Walk a Mile in Your Shoes
by Tortured Artist
Summary: When Laura, Kana, June, Kylie, and Travis are transformed into hamsters by an unknown magic, it is up to the HamHam gang to travel through forbidden cities and fight dark magical forces to revert the humans back to normal.
1. One Fateful Camping Trip

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 1: One Fateful Camping Trip

_Author's Note: This is a sequel to the fanfic "The Mystery of Snoozer." It might be easier to understand this story if you read the first story first but don't worry, I've gotten a lot of good reviews about that story so it should be worth your while._

_Disclaimer: Whenever I write a fantasy like this, I often draw from "Dungeons and Dragons." Throughout this story, I make several references to "Dungeons and Dragons." For example, the word "Rokugon" is actually an alteration of the word "Rokugan" which is a word that came out of "Dungeons and Dragons." Bare in mind that despite the references, I do not own "Dungeons and Dragons" anymore than I own Hamtaro._

Neteru found himself in a dark area. He couldn't see anything in this strange dark environment except himself which seemed as visible as if he was under a spot light. Although he didn't see anything other than himself, he felt some kind of wind beating against his body causing his fur to ruffle and move with the force of the wind. Neteru could not determine the source of the wind because the wind itself appeared to be coming in all directions at once. Neteru wanted to escape but for some reason, he felt rooted to the invisible ground he stood on. Like someone walking into a spot light, a large figure walked into Neteru's field of vision staring at him face to face. The creature was a brown and white hedgehog who was taller than Neteru but appeared to be older. The quills on the hedgehog's back shook dangerously with the wind but the hedgehog gave no notice to them. The hedgehog opened up her paw and like some hologram from a science fiction movie, a 3D image appeared. The image was that of a white circle with nine gray inward curving pylons surrounding it. Judging from the fact that the structure appeared to be made out of stone, Neteru believed that it was a miniature replica of a larger structure. The image disappeared and Neteru was once again looking into the face of the hedgehog.

"Ankorbak is within your reach." said the hedgehog who spoke loud and clearly despite the noise from the wind. "Once you find your purpose to go there, first travel to a ham-ham city called Rokugon and find the ancient seer."

Neteru awoke with a gasp, sweat all over his face. He sat there in his bed staring at the darkness in his bedroom. He turned his gaze to his left and saw Mara curled up into a little furry ball and sleeping beside him peacefully. Mara's mustard yellow fur shown brightly even in the darkness, enabling Neteru a good look at his best friend. Neteru got out of bed and reached for a pencil and some paper. He quickly wrote down what the dream had told him and crawled back into bed. Neteru wasn't sure what the dream meant so he decided to wait until morning to tell Mara about it.

It has been a month since the two of them had been reunited. Neteru had always thought of Mara while he was asleep under that sleeping curse but now that they are together again, Neteru felt more happier than ever. The two was so pleased to see each other that upon coming back from Moonbeam's home, they agreed to move in with each other. With some help from the Ham-Hams, they dug themselves an underground home of their own. Boss showed them how to make a bed for themselves using fabric and some hay. The mattress was actually more comfortable then it looked and both Mara and Neteru had some restful nights sleeping on it. Yes, things are going back to normal for these two old friends and perhaps something a little more might be happening between them as well....

The next morning, Neteru awoke to see Mara eating sun flower seeds. Neteru has grown used to having Mara wake up before him. Even before Neteru was put under that sleeping spell, he was always a heavy sleeper but Mara on the other hand was a light sleeper and early riser.

"Well, that must be the first time I have ever seen you wake up on your own accord." said Mara.

"Hahaha." said Neteru sarcastically. "So what's for breakfast?"

"The usual, sun flower seeds." said Mara as she placed the seeds on the table. "Help yourself."

"Don't mind if I do." said Neteru as he got out of bed. He picked up a seed and the two were krmping on seeds together.

"Hey Mara." said Neteru. "I had a vision last night."

"You did? Tell me about it." said Mara. Neteru told her about the dream and then showed her the paper where he had written the information about the dream down.

"What do you think it all means, Neteru?" asked Mara.

"I don't know." said Neteru. "Sometimes, the divine leaves us information that would become useful in the future. I don't know what it all could mean but I feel confident I will find out in the future."

"What is Ankorbak and what is this city called Rokugon?" asked Mara.

"I don't know what Ankorbak is but I do know that Rokugon is the largest ham-ham city here in Japan." said Neteru.

"Why would we need a desire to go there?" asked Mara.

"That is one of the great mysteries of fate." said Neteru.

Meanwhile, Laura was in her room packing up her suit case. Hamtaro was watching Laura wondering what she was up to.

"I'm going to an out door school, Hamtaro." said Laura as she kneeled down to Hamtaro's cage. "It's basically similar to a summer camp but it is shorter. I'll only be there for about two weeks."

"An out door school you say?" thought Hamtaro. "Does that mean that you get to have all your classes outside?"

"The only problem is that I can't take you with me." said Laura sadly. "I'm going to miss you so much, Hamtaro." Laura opened the cage and Hamtaro crawled into her hand. The two cuddled each other. "Don't forget me while I'm gone."

"I would never forget you, Laura." thought Hamtaro. Laura put Hamtaro back in his cage before closing her suit case. As she left the room, she said, "Good bye, Hamtaro, see you in a week."

"Good bye, Laura." thought Hamtaro. "Now's my chance to see my friends." Hamtaro went over to the entrance to his cage and he squeezed his way out like always. He scampered away from his cage repeating "Ticky-Ticky" as he went. He squeezed in-between the bed and the wall and made his way towards the small hole leading out. He squeezed through the hole and dove down the drain pipe shouting "Oopaa" upon flying out the other end. However, instead of landing on Brandy's head, he missed and hit Brandy's dog food. Luckily, Brandy eats the dry dog food.

"Sorry about that, Brandy." said Hamtaro as he climbed out of the bowl. As usual, Brandy didn't pay too much attention to Hamtaro and he just yawned in response.

Saying "Chick-ah-Chick-ah" as he went, Hamtaro ran towards the hole in the yard, went down the tunnel, and towards the Clubhouse entrance.

"Hamha everyone." said Hamtaro upon entering the Clubhouse.

"Hamha, Hamtaro." chorused the Ham-Hams. Hamtaro was thrilled to see everyone had come to the Clubhouse today, including Neteru and Mara.

"So what do you guys want to do?" asked Hamtaro.

"Perhaps we should play a board game?" suggested Stan.

"But we like did that yesterday and the day before." protested Sandy. "I don't know about you guys but I want to go outside and exorcise."

"We could go over to Acorn Mountain and play soccer." suggested Maxwell.

"Great idea, Max." said Hamtaro.

"What is Acorn Mountain?" asked Mara.

"It's this place in the park covered with acorns everywhere." explained Stan.

"But if it is covered in acorns, how are we supposed to play soccer?" asked Mara.

"We always clear out a small spot so we can play soccer." explained Sandy.

"And since it is so sunny outside, she should come out and play." said Hamtaro. The Ham-Hams chorused in agreement. "Then it's settled then, we pack up and go to Acorn Mountain."

"Oopaa!" chorused the Ham-Hams.

Meanwhile, back at the elementary school, Laura and Kana were standing side by side as their teacher, Mr. Yoshi, told them the rules.

"Now class, when you reach the camp, follow the camp counselors to your cabins." said Mr. Yoshi. "While there, all you have to do is pick out your beds and then you will be all set. Everyone line up in front of the buses now." The class did as they were told and one by one, they got onto the bus. The ride was only expected to last about an hour but Laura and Kana managed to amuse themselves the whole way by playing Cat's Cradle. Once they reached the camp, the class stepped outside into the forest grounds. The camp was not apparently obvious at first glance because all there was were some dense forest and three dirt trails. Thankfully, Mr. Yoshi was around to lead the class down the trail heading towards the camp. He organized the students and led them down the trail in a single file line. Laura, Kana, Travis, June, and Kylie were walking down the trail at the end of the line when Laura saw something in the grass. It was a bright blue light. It wasn't bright enough to create very much illumination but Laura could see the object clearly.

"Look at that." said Laura. Kana, June, Kylie, and Travis all stopped to look at the glowing object in the forest.

"What is that?" asked Travis.

"I don't know, maybe someone is trying to trick us." said Kana.

"Let's get closer and see what it is." suggested June.

"But we really should stay with the group." said Kylie as she watched the rest of the class disappear. When Kylie noticed Travis, Kana, June, and Laura walking over to the glowing object, she said, "Hey, wait for me." The five of them walked over to the object. The object glowed too brightly to make out but they could tell that it was very small. The five curious students leaned over to look at the glowing object.

"What do you think it is?" asked Laura.

"I don't know." admitted Travis. "I think we should take it to Mr. Yoshi."

"Don't, it might be dangerous." said Kana.

"I don't see how it could possibly be dangerous." said Travis and before anyone could stop him, Travis bent over and grabbed the object. Instantly, they were surrounded by a blinding blue light. By the time the flash stopped, all of them fell unconscious unaware that they had gone through a physical transformation like none other.

_Author's Notes: In case you don't know, an outdoor school is really no different than a summer camp. The only difference that I know of is that it is shorter. I don't know much about outdoor schools, only that I actually went to one in the sixth grade. It lasted only five days and I went there during the school year instead of during summer vacation._


	2. Human Meet Ham Ham

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 2: Human Meet Ham-Ham

As Yoshi's class was escorted to the cabins by the cabin leaders, another class was exiting the cabins. Two weeks ago, the third graders in Laura's school spent two weeks here in this outdoor school. Now that their time at the camp was done, the third graders were going to ride in the buses that brought the fifth graders here. One of the third graders who were coming home today was a little blond girl named Cindy. She had long blond hair that was tied up into a pony tail. She wore an all red dress and large thick brown glasses. Freckles decorated her sweet face which made her look younger than she really was. Many of the adults see her as cute but some of the other kids often picked on her for it. Cindy didn't care about what the other boys thought, she liked looking cute.

As her teacher, Mr. Summers, was organizing all the students, Cindy went ahead and walked up the path to the buses. As she followed the trail, her sharp eyes saw small furry creatures. Cindy was interested so she walked over to the small rodents. She got down on her knees to examine the rodents. All five of the rodents were unconscious but Cindy could tell that they were still alive.

"Why these are hamsters." said Cindy as she got a close look at them. "Oh and they're so cute, I got to take them home with me." Cindy reached into her blue back pack and pulled out an empty Tupper Ware container. It had holes in the lid because Cindy liked to keep live creatures in it. Cindy gently placed the little hamsters into the container, closed it up and carefully placed it into the back pack. It was then that she noticed a small statue on the ground right in front of her. It was hard to see what the statue looked like because some leaves had blown on it. Cindy was about to reach out and touch it when someone shouted out, "Cindy, what are you doing out here?" Cindy jumped to her feet and she saw her teacher, Mr. Summers. Mr. Summers was a large man with a big muscles. He had short brown hair and brown eyes. His large size and huge physique made him intimidating to Cindy.

"I was tired of waiting so I decided to go ahead of everyone." said Cindy trying to explain herself to her teacher.

"Cindy, you know better than to wonder off by yourself." said Mr. Summers.

"Yes sir." said Cindy as she followed Mr. Summers to the buses. The students all got onto the buses and they were sent home

"Uh, what happened?" groaned Laura as she woke up. As she opened her eyes, she noticed that everything was pitch black. She couldn't see a thing through all the darkness.

"Hey, is everyone here?" said Laura.

"Ya, I'm here." said Travis.

"So am I." said Kana.

"I'm a little shaky but otherwise okay." said Kylie.

"I don't feel so good." said June.

"Where are we?" asked Kylie.

"Judging by the vibrations and the sounds of a motor, I think we are in a car or some other moving vehicle." said Travis. They all realized that Travis was right. They could hear and feel themselves speeding along a road and what was also odd was they heard multiple voices as if they were in a crowded room. The voices seemed louder than normal as if their hearing was some how stronger. Their ears picked up the sound of Cindy's voice: "Hey Jane, you should see these hamsters I found in the forest.

"Hamsters? Let me see them." said a little girl's voice. Laura and the others were blinded by light as the back pack they were in was opened. Cindy pulled out the Tupper Ware container she had in her back pack and showed her friend, Jane, the hamsters inside the clear container.

"Oh, they're so cute." said Jane. Laura and the others were surprised to see a girl with long brown hair and freckles staring at them. What was even weirder was that they were looking at her through a clear Tupper Ware container. As Laura's eyes and the eyes of her friends adjusted to the light, they saw clearly why they were small enough to fit in a Tupper Ware container: they had turned into hamsters.

Laura had changed into a brown hamster who was completely brown, just like her hair color and she even had miniature hair clips on her head. Kana was also brown but her front was completely white in an oval shape on her chest and belly and a white circle on her face. She also wore hamster size glasses. June had turned into a hamster that was covered completely in yellow fur that was more lighter in color than Mara's. Kylie changed into a hamster completely covered in orange fur. She also still had her pig tails. Travis had turned into a gray hamsters with black tiger stripes located in the same position as Sandy and Stan's brown tiger stripes.

All of the human screamed in horror as they realized the truth. They began to rub their heads furiously repeating "Kushi-Kushi" as they did so. Once they managed to com down, they all sat down thinking about their situation.

"Oh man, what happened to us?" said June.

"How did we become hamsters?" said Travis.

"This is got to be a dream." said Kana.

"I doubt it." said Laura.

"But how can it not be?" asked Kylie. "Humans don't just turn into hamsters, Laura."

"But it all feels so real." protested Laura. Cindy and Jane were watching Laura and the others.

"Are you guys feeling restless?" said Cindy affectionately to former humans. "Don't worry, you cute little hamsters, I can give you all a new home with me."

"We're not hamsters." shouted June. "We are humans and let us out." But what June didn't know was that the Ham-Ham language could not be understood by humans. Even though June was shouting at the top of her little lungs, Cindy and every other human on the bus did not hear June.

"Hey, can't you hear us?" shouted Laura but to no avail. "They can't hear us. What are we going to do?" The five of them just looked at each other in silence not knowing what to do or what to think.

They spent much of the ride home inside Cindy's back pack thus preventing them from seeing anything the whole way. Upon arriving at the school, Cindy walked home like she always does carrying her back pack as she walked. She decided to take the short cut through the park. As she walked, she decided to show Laura and the others the park. She pulled the Tupper Ware container out of the back pack to show the former humans the park.

"Hey, we're in the park." said Laura pointing out the obvious.

"Do you think she will lock us up in a cage and keep us as pets?" asked Travis.

"I don't want to be a house pet." said Kylie.

"Hey, what are those kids doing?" asked Kana. The kids that Kana had pointed out were three boys who were running towards Cindy and they rammed right into her. The Tupper Ware container fell out of Cindy's hands and it skidded into the trees.

"Hey, what do you got there, Cindy?" said a boy tauntingly as he picked up the Tupper Ware that contained Laura and the others. The boy opened the lid.

"Aw, what cute little hamsters." said the boy but he didn't sound like he meant it.

"Give them back." ordered Cindy desperately. She ran over to the Tupper Ware container and grabbed one end of it but the boy would not let go. The boy and Cindy continued to tug of war with the Tupper Ware causing Laura and the others to rock violently back and forth. The other two boys just watched the action cheering on the fight.

"Let go, I'm serious." said Cindy desperately as she fought with the boy. The boy deliberately let go of the Tupper Ware container causing Cindy to fall backwards and let go of the Tupper Ware causing Laura and the others to fly out into the air screaming. The former humans flew in an arch and came to a crash landing through a bush. The five ham-hams rolled and tumbled through the branches of the bush until they fell out of it and began to roll down a small hill on the other side of the bush. They all tumbled painfully through the grassy hill landing hard at the foot of the hill. They all just laid there waiting for the pain and dizziness to pass.

"Are you okay?" asked a voice nearby. Laura opened her eyes and got to her feet. "That was quite a nasty fall." Laura looked into the eyes of the one who was speaking to her and she gasped. Standing before her was Hamtaro. Laura stared wide eyed at the hamster before her. Kana also got a glimpse of Hamtaro and she too was stunned. June, Kylie, and Travis (who were also getting to their feet) was not as shocked to see Hamtaro since they didn't know him well.

"Hey Hamtaro, have you found the soccer ball yet?" asked another voice from far off.

"Not yet, Oxnard, but I found some more ham-hams here." yelled out Hamtaro. Oxnard came out from the bushes and said, "Wow, you weren't kidding." Now it was Kana's turn to stare wide eyed. Oxnard looked to the side and noticed a small white ball not far away.

"Hey Hamtaro, there's our soccer ball." said Oxnard.

"Oh yeah, good eye Oxy." said Hamtaro. He walked over to the ball repeating "Ticky-Ticky" as he walked. Hamtaro picked up the ball and said to Laura and her friends, "We were just playing a game of soccer, do you guys want to join us? We can fit in some more players."

"You bet." said Travis since everyone else was speechless and Travis couldn't pass up a chance to play a game of soccer.

"Great, just follow us." said Hamtaro. As Hamtaro and Oxnard led the baffled former humans to the soccer game, Hamtaro said, "By the way, my name is Hamtaro."

"And I'm Oxnard." said Oxnard.

"Well, I'm Laura." said Laura shyly.

"Laura?" said Hamtaro surprised. "That's funny, my human's name is Laura, too." Laura could not believe that she was having an actual conversation with her own hamster.

Travis, June, Kylie, Laura, and Kana all gasped at once when they saw the other Ham-Hams and their make shift soccer field.

"Hey Hamtaro, did you get the ball?" asked Pashmina.

"Ya, I have it right here and I also found some new friends." said Hamtaro. Heads were turning as all the Ham-Hams noticed the new visitors and decided to get a little closer to greet them. Laura couldn't believe how many hamsters there were. She immediately recognized Penelope and Pashmina. She also recognized Bijou as Maria's hamster. Another familiar face that she noticed was Stan and Sandy. She only seen these two a few times but she recognized them none the less even though she still didn't know how to tell the two apart. She was also surprised when she noticed Panda who she remembered was Mimi's hamster. Dexter, Howdy, Boss, Maxwell, Cappy, Neteru, and Mara where the only ones she had never seen before.

Without warning, Stan ran over to Laura and grabbed her paws.

"Hello gorgeous, where have you been all my life?" flirted Stan but before Stan could say anymore, a pink ribbon grabbed Stan by the tail like a whip and dragged Stan away from Laura. Sandy, who was the one who grabbed Stan with the ribbon, pulled Stan towards her as if he was a cow snagged by a lasso.

"Excuse my twin brother," said Sandy to Laura, "he likes to flirt a lot." Stan groaned. The former humans were not sure what they were going to do but one thing was certain: this was the strangest thing that has ever happened to them.


	3. See Through Anothers Eyes

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 3: See Through Another's Eyes

_Author's Note: For those of you who have never read "The Mystery of Snoozer," I thought I should tell you that both Neteru and Mara are sorcerers._

The Ham-Hams began to introduce themselves to Laura and the others one by one. As they did, Neteru eyed the visitors suspiciously. It is said that sorcerers tend to have a sixth sense when it came to powerful magic. Neteru never believed in that concept but none the less, he felt like there was something not right about the visitors.

"Over here is Neteru and Mara." said Hamtaro as he introduced Neteru and Mara to Laura and the others. This statement snapped Neteru out of his thoughts.

"Hello and welcome to our neck of the woods." said Neteru politely. Laura and the others were rather surprised that both Neteru and Mara were carrying what appeared to be decorative walking sticks but in reality they were magic staffs. Neteru's staff was wooden and it was lumpy as if the creator was having difficulties keeping the sander steady. The staff was in a cone shape and at the base of the cone was a large green diamond. Mara's staff looked like a metal golf tee with a glass icosahedron on the top of it.

"What are your names, strangers?" asked Maxwell.

"Uh." said Laura. They were not sure whether they should tell them the truth that they are really humans. "Well, the fact is, we're not hamsters."

"Heke?" chorused the Ham-Hams. Boss sniffed Laura saying "Hif-Hif" as he did.

"You smell like a ham-ham." said Boss.

"And you look like a ham-ham so that means you are a ham-ham." said Howdy.

"No, you don't understand, we are humans who were turned into ham-hams." said Laura assuming that "ham-ham" means "hamster."

"Humans?" said Neteru some what surprised by this news. "How did you become ham-hams or hamsters as you like to call us?"

"Well, we found this glowing object just lying on the ground and...." began Kana.

"....you tried to pick it up." finished Neteru.

"Yes, and we just fell unconscious and when we woke up, we were hamsters." said Travis.

"So they are humans?" said Boss.

"Yes." said Neteru.

"Really, then that means...." said Hamtaro. Hamtaro's mouth was wide open as he turned his head towards Laura and the others. "Laura?" Laura nodded her head. Hamtaro was speechless. "I can't believe it, you're actually Laura." Hamtaro was absolutely ecstatic.

"But if you guys were once humans than who are you?" asked Oxnard to Kana.

"I'm Kana." said Kana. Oxnard instantly fainted. "Oxnard!" Kana ran over to his side trying to see if he is okay.

"Don't worry, Kana." said Pashmina. "I know how to wake up Oxnard." Pashmina pulled out a sun flower seed and waved it in front of Oxnard's nose. Oxnard sniffed the sun flower seed saying "Hif-Hif" as he did. Oxnard instantly sat up and said, "Do I smell food?" Oxnard noticed the seed that Pashmina was holding and dove for it but Pashmina immediately pulled the seed away.

"Uh uh, sorry Oxnard but you promised you would stick to your diet." said Pashmina.

"Uhhh." groaned Oxnard. Oxnard rubbed his head with his paws saying "Kushi-Kushi" as he did.

"What about the rest of you?" asked Mara to June, Kylie, and Travis.

"I'm June." said June.

"No way." said Pashmina.

"And I'm Kylie." said Kylie.

"Ookwee, ookwee, ookwee." repeated Penelope excitedly and ran over to hug Kylie. Kylie was rather surprised by this.

"And what about you?" asked Boss to Travis.

"My name is Travis." said Travis.

"Oh yeah, we've seen you before." said Boss.

"Neteru, how do you think this happened?" asked Hamtaro.

"Well, from what I can figure, that item they had touched was some kind of powerful magical artifact." said Neteru. "The spell that turned these humans to ham-hams must have been some kind of trap to prevent theft but a transfiguration spell seems like such an odd choice for a self defense spell."

"You can change them back, can't you?" asked Boss.

"I know a spell that might be able to revert them back to normal." said Neteru.

"Great, give it a try." said Boss.

"What's he going to do?" asked Laura.

"Don't worry, Laura." said Neteru. "Me and Mara are sorcerers. We specialize in magic. Now just stand still in a group so I can cast this spell."

The humans all got close together as all the ham-hams got out of the way of the spell. Hamtaro was actually some what sad too see Laura changed back so soon. Neteru raised his staff and it began to glow green.

"_Nethaba gaoaga dooga_." said Neteru. A glowing beam of green energy shot from Neteru's staff but instead of hitting Laura and the others, the beam struck some kind of invisible barrier that surrounded the former humans and instantly, a red wave of energy shot from the shield and struck Neteru hard in the chest causing him to be thrown into the air and land hard on the ground.

"Neteru!" said Mara in concern. They ran over to where Neteru lay as still as a corpse.

"Neteru, speak to me." said Mara.

"Ouchichi." groaned Neteru in pain as he sat up.

"What was zat?" asked Bijou.

"There appears to be some kind of magic shield surrounding the humans." said Neteru.

"Magic shield?" asked Cappy.

"Yes." said Neteru. "What ever spell it was that changed them into ham-hams, it also created a powerful block that has repelled my magic. I've never seen anything like this before."

"So are we stuck as hamsters forever?" asked Kylie worried.

"There has to be some way." persisted Mara. "Perhaps if we combined our magic, maybe we would be able...."

"No." said Neteru. "That wont work."

"Why not?" persisted Mara.

"Because this magic doesn't seem like anything an ordinary ham-ham can produce." said Neteru. "It's difficult to explain but my instincts tell me that who ever it was that put that spell on that item was extremely powerful." There was a silence as Neteru said this.

"You don't think it was deity magic, do you?" asked Mara.

"Could have been." said Neteru. "I'm going to the Clubhouse and see if I can find anything to dispel that spell. _Vica hoggen barohoga_." After saying the incantation, Neteru teleported back to the Clubhouse in a flash of white light.

"So what are we going to do now?" asked June.

"Why don't we continue our game of soccer." suggested Sandy.

"Great idea." said Hamtaro. "Do you guys want to play?" Laura was a bit taken aback by the question but said, "Sure, we will give it a try." They all divided into teams and also placed the former humans in the game as well. Laura and the others were rather surprised that ham-hams could play soccer but they quickly got into the game. Laura and friends were actually having the time of their lives even though they all stunk at socce except for Travis. Even the ham-hams were doing a better job than them but they didn't care. They were having too much fun to care.

"Okay everybody, lunch time." said Maxwell as he pulled out a bag full of sun flower seeds. Everyone left the game and began to gather around Maxwell, eager to eat. Laura and the other former humans were also rather hungry so they went over to the bag of seeds.

"Are you sure there is enough for our guests?" asked Howdy. "And since Oxnard is here, there is no guarantee we will have enough."

"I'm sure that we can manage and even if we don't, there is enough acorns here anyway." said Boss. The hamsters all grabbed a sun flower seed from the bag except for Oxnard who went strait for an acorn he had found. Maxwell handed Laura and her friends some sun flower seeds. They looked at the seeds wondering how to eat these things. Hamtaro noticed their facial expressions and decided to help.

"It is easy to eat sun flower seeds." said Hamtaro. "Just nibble on the edges until the shell comes off. Then rip the shell off and eat the insides. Watch how I do it." While repeating "Packa-Packa," Hamtaro gnawed the shell off the seed exposing the food inside. He said "Krrmp" as he took a bite out of the seed. Hamtaro made it look easy but Laura and the others had difficulties at first. Once they managed to take a bite out of their seeds, they realized that the seeds tasted really good. In no time, they were krmping down on those seeds with all the other Ham-Hams.

As Laura gnawned on her seed, she remembered how Cindy didn't hear her when she spoke and this memory brought up a question in her mind.

"Hamtaro, why is it that I can hear you speak when I'm a hamster and I couldn't when I was human?" asked Laura. Hamtaro pulled out the sun flower seed in his mouth so he could talk.

"Well, all ham-hams are gifted with their own language." said Hamtaro. "This is a language only other ham-hams can understand or hear. However, there has been certain exceptions."

"Exceptions? Like what?" asked Laura.

"Well, it is believed that certain circumstances enable humans to briefly understand us but so far, it is an unproved fact." said Hamtaro. "But there are some rare humans who have a gift to understand our language."

"You mean that some humans have the power to understand ham-hams?" asked Laura surprised.

"Yeah." said Hamtaro.

There was a soft rumble of thunder as the clouds overhead began to get thick. Boss began sniffing the air.

"Hif-hif. Uh-Oh, I smell rain coming." said Boss. Everyone began to sniff the air including Laura who hadn't noticed that her sense of smell was stronger.

"Hey, I can smell it, too." said Oxnard.

"We better seek shelter in the Clubhouse." said Hamtaro.

"Pack up everything and lets get out of here." ordered Boss.

"But I'm not done with my seeds." protested Oxnard.

"Well, finish them in the Clubhouse." said Boss. Everyone packed up their supplies and began walking towards the hole leading into the Clubhouse but it wasn't long until a sudden rain storm started to fall drenching the Ham-Hams. At that point, they all started running repeating "Badda-Badda" as they went. Laura and the other former humans realized they were repeating "Badda-Badda" as well. They didn't know why but some how it felt so natural. They all ran into a nearby hole and marched down the hole single file. Laura had no clue where she was going but at least she was out of the rain.

They finally came across a small wooden door which Boss opened and allowed everyone inside. Laura and the others were surprised to see a large underground room filled with hamster size furniture plus stairs and even a ceiling fan.

"What is this place?" asked Laura.

"This is the Clubhouse." explained Hamtaro. "We come here all the time, it's like our own headquarters, sort of speak."

"You mean you come here often?" said Laura. "Like you actually escape out of your cages and come here?"

"Well, yes." said Hamtaro. "The majority of us are house pets and whenever our humans get out of the house, we come here to the Clubhouse and then we come back home before our humans come home."

"But how do you guys managed to escape the house like that?" asked June.

"We have our ways." said Hamtaro. While standing behind Hamtaro, Boss cupped his paws over his mouth and shouted out, "Hey Neteru, where are you?" There was no response.

"I wonder where Neteru is?" asked Boss out loud.

"I though he said he was going to my library." said Maxwell.

"Ookwee, Ookwee." repeated Penelope as she hopped up and down pointing.

"What is it, Penelope?" asked Pashmina. Penelope walked over to the huge round table and picked up a note that was sitting there. Boss picked up the note and read the letter out loud.

"Dear Ham-Hams," read Boss, "I couldn't find anyway of changing the kids back to humans so I have gone out to find other sources of information. I may be gone all day so Mara should expect me back by late tonight."

"Heke?" said Dexter. "Look in other sources? Where else could he look?"

"He's going to find a way to change us back, wont he?" asked Kylie.

"I trust Neteru that if there is a way to bring you back, he would find it." said Mara.

"In the mean time, we can play some indoor games." said Hamtaro.

Laura, Kana, June, Kylie, and even Travis had fun that day. They spent much of the day inside the Clubhouse playing games. Kana was very surprised when she learned that Oxnard knew how to use tarot cards and he even could make predictions with it. The Ham-Hams also told the humans stories about their adventures including those times when they helped their humans. Eventually, it was late and it was time for the Ham-Hams to head on home. The Ham-Hams agreed that they would take their humans home to sleep while Travis spends the night at the Clubhouse.

Hamtaro led Laura back to the house. It was dark out and hard to see but Hamtaro had broken in and out of the house enough times to know his way around. He led Laura up the drain pipe and through the small hole behind the bed repeating "Ticky-Ticky" the whole way.

"So that's how you get out of the house." said Laura as she squeezed her way out from between the bed. The room was dark but there was a beam of light coming out from under the door. Hamtaro led Laura through the dim light to the cage. He opened the door and aloud her inside first. Laura felt rather odd to be inside a cage. She never realized how different the world was like when you're this small.

"This way, Laura." said Hamtaro. Laura followed Hamtaro to a small blue box where Hamtaro slept. Laura stepped into the dark box stepping onto the hay that covered the ground.

"We can spend the night here." said Hamtaro. "Just curl up and make yourself comfortable." Laura got onto the ground and curled up like a little furry ball. She was surprised at how comfortable it was to sleep like this on a pile of hay. Hamtaro curled up next to Laura and said, "Good night, Laura."

"Good night, Hamtaro." said Laura and in no time at all, they both fell asleep saying "ZuZuZu" as they slept.


	4. Breaking Into the City Library

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 4: Breaking Into the City Library

Hamtaro stirred awake the next morning. He stretched out and said "Oowah" in a yawn. He and Laura were still in the wooden blue box they had slept in last night and Laura was finally beginning to awaken.

"Good morning, Laura." said Hamtaro as he sat up.

"Good morning, Hamtaro." said Laura as she too got into an upright position. Suddenly, their sensitive hearing picked up the sound of someone entering the room. The two began to panic.

"Wait here." said Hamtaro as he crawled out of the little box. Upon coming out into the open, Hamtaro quickly realized that it was Marion, Laura's mom, who had entered the room.

"Well good morning, Hamtaro." said Marion. Laura tried to resist the temptation to shout out or reveal herself because she knew that Marion wouldn't hear her and what would Marion think when she sees a second hamster in the cage. Marion pulled out a bag of sun flower seeds and placed a handful of them into Hamtaro's food tray.

"Now that Laura is not here to take care of you, she has asked me to do it." explained Marion to Hamtaro. Marion noticed that Hamtaro's water bottle was low so she pulled off the bottle and left the room to refill it. Hamtaro ran over to his tray and pulled out three sun flower seeds. He ran over to the box where Laura hid and gave them to here.

"Something to snack on until your mom comes back." explained Hamtaro. Laura took the sun flower seeds and began to eat them. About a minute later, Marion came back with the water bottle. She attached it to the cage and then left. By then, it was safe for Laura to come out into the open to have breakfast even though eating inside a hamster cage was not something Laura ever thought she would be doing.

After breakfast, Laura and Hamtaro snuck out of the cage and left to the Clubhouse. Upon entering the Clubhouse, they found everyone had come, including all the other humans who had been turned into ham-hams.

"Hamha, Ham-Hams." greeted Hamtaro. "Has Neteru or Mara come back yet."

"No, Neteru and Mara hasn't shown up at zee Clubhouse, yet." said Bijou.

"I wonder where they could be?" asked Hamtaro. Laura and Hamtaro got a seat at the table as they listened to all the side chit chat.

"I do hope that Neteru can find some way of bring us back." said Laura.

"Don't worry, Laura, Neteru would never let us down." said Bijou.

"Yeah, I'm sure...." said Boss but before he could finish, there was a blinding what light as Mara and Neteru teleported into the room.

"Ahh, don't do that." said Boss.

"Sorry about that, Boss." apologized Mara.

"So, do you have any news for us?" asked Travis. Everyone fell quiet listening to what news they had for them.

"As you may know, I couldn't find anything in Maxwell's library so I went out looking for other places to look." explained Neteru. "But there are no other libraries that are hamster size which means that we have to check in human libraries."

"Are there any in this town?" asked Cappy as he lifted up his pot over his head.

"Only one." said Neteru. "But we face many challenges in going there, though. Human books are too large for us to lift out of a shelf without some risk of safety."

"So? You can use your magic to lift those books and...." said Boss.

"I'm afraid, it's not that simple." said Neteru. "The library is open 24/7 so there are humans there all the time. The use of magic would be far too noticeable thus we run the risk of being caught if I used magic."

"But why the big secrecy, anyway?" asked June. "Why must you keep your intelligence a secret from humans?"

"Because the human race has a tendency to fear what they don't understand." answered Mara. "If humans found out that ham-hams are smarter than they look, they may do experiments on us or even fear us. It would change our way of life forever." Laura thought about that concept and realized Mara was right.

"But there has to be some way of looking through that library without anyone being suspicious." said Pashmina.

"Ookwee." agreed Penelope but no one had any immediate ideas.

Suddenly, an idea came to Panda.

"I know, we can get Mimi to help us." said Panda.

"Mimi?" asked Neteru. "How could she help?"

"We can guide her to the library and she can search through the books for us." explained Panda. "We can remain in hiding next to her and through our guidance, she will search through the books we need." Neteru and Mara thought about this and smiles crossed their faces.

"That might just work." said Neteru. There was some exited conversation amongst the ham-hams but the former humans were some what confused.

"Who's Mimi?" asked Travis.

"You don't mean my cousin Mimi, do you?" asked Kana.

"Of-course we do." said Neteru.

"But how can she help us?" asked Laura.

"Well, remember how I mentioned that some humans have a rare gift to understand the ham-ham language?" said Hamtaro. "Well, Mimi is one of them." Kana's mouth was wide open.

"I don't believe it." said Kana. "Mimi always told us that she could hear hamsters talk but I never realized that she literally could."

"Come on, gang." said Neteru. "To Mimi's house we go."

Using an underground tunnel, they walked all the way to Mimi's house located in a shop on the other side of town. Eventually, the Ham-Hams reached the all too familiar home of Kana's aunt, uncle, and cousins. They all ran around the house repeating "Badda-Badda" as they went. They came to the back entrance and there, they found Mimi playing tea party with the china dolls she got for her birthday. She had a small pink plastic table that was small enough for the dolls. She also had some plastic cups and a bowl full of real peanuts.

"There she is." said Panda as all the Ham-Hams gathered behind him.

"And look, she eez playing tea party." said Bijou.

"And look at those peanuts." said Oxnard hungrily.

"Lets get in closer." said Hamtaro. They all walked towards Mimi repeating "Wasa-Wasa" as they walked. The former humans couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about walking up to Mimi primarily because this small girl was now much more taller than they were now.

"Hey Mimi." said Panda.

"Oh." said Mimi. She turned her head and saw the Ham-Hams. Mimi greeted the miniature visitors with a smile. "Panda, you brought the Ham-Hams over. Would you guys want some peanuts?" Mimi picked up the bowl full of peanuts and offered it to the Ham-Hams.

"Don't mind if I do." said Oxnard and before anyone could stop him, he ran over to the bowl and began eating the peanuts. Mimi giggled.

"Oh Oxnard, you're so funny." said Mimi.

"Mimi, we have come here asking for your help." said Neteru.

"Oh, what is it, Snoozer?" asked Mimi.

"My name is Neteru." corrected Neteru. "We really need your help, Mimi. See those ham-hams over there?" Neteru pointed to the former humans.

"Yeah, I see them." said Mimi.

"Well, one of them is Kana and the rest are four of her friends." explained Neteru. "They have all been changed into ham-hams through some evil spell and we need your help in order to break the spell."

"Really?" said Mimi surprised. "Which one of you is Kana?"

"I am." said Kana timidly as she raised her paw. Mimi leaned over until she was face to face with Kana.

"Wow, Kana, you're a hamster." said Mimi. "Oh, you're so cute. Can I be a ham-ham, too?"

"I'm afraid not." said Neteru. "Listen, we need to change them back. Can you help us?"

"What is it you want me to do?" asked Mimi as she sat up.

"We need you to go to the city library and help us find a book that will hopefully hold the key to reversing this spell." said Neteru. "Do you think you can sneak out of here without letting your family know you're gone.

"The city library?" asked Mimi. "I don't know. I've never been outside of the house by myself before."

"Don't worry." reassured Neteru. "We will be at your side the whole time to guide you through everything you need to do."

"Please, Mimi." pleaded Kana. "We really need your help." Mimi didn't want to let her cousin down so she agreed.

"Excellent." said Neteru. "Know, where is your mom?"

"She and Tina went to buy groceries." said Mimi.

"What about your brothers?" asked Neteru.

"They are at a friend's house." said Mimi. "Only me and daddy is the house."

"And where is your father?" asked Neteru.

"Down stairs working on another project of his." said Mimi.

"Do you think he would notice if you were gone?" asked Neteru.

"Doubt it." said Mimi. "Whenever he is working on something in the basement, he always spends several hours down there."

"Perfect." said Hamtaro. "That means we can go immediately."

"Mimi, do you have a small bag you can carry us in?" asked Mara.

"Let me check." said Mimi. She walked over to a nearby drawer and searched inside it. She looked through all the clothing and found a small plastic pink purse.

"Will this work?" asked Mimi.

"That will do perfectly." said Neteru. "But it's not enough for all of us. We will have to travel light." He faced the Ham-Hams. "Myself, Mara, and Hamtaro will go with Mimi to the library while you guys stay here and try and make sure that no one notices that Mimi is gone. They all agreed to the plan and everyone got themselves ready.

Mimi put on her shoes and boldly walked out of the house as quietly as she could so her father wouldn't hear her leave. She carried the small purse she had and inside was Hamtaro, Mara, and Neteru. Mimi was obviously nervous but determined to help, after all, the Ham-Hams have done so much for her already. Neteru carefully guided Mimi along the sidewalks until she reached the City Library which looked more like the White House than a library. The huge building dwarfed Mimi as she stepped into the place. Even from the inside, the interior reflected the large size of the library. The large library was filled with wooden furniture all polished to a beautiful shine. Neteru, Mara, and Hamtaro stuck their heads out of the purse to see what is going on. Neteru led Mimi through the library. Fortunately, the library was not as crowded as Neteru feared.

Neteru led Mimi to the computers that had the book listings. Each one had a black background on the screen and words written in green.

"Now, find a vacant computer and take a seat in front of it." instructed Neteru. Mimi found a computer and sat down in front of it. "Type in 'magical incantations." Despite Mimi's unfamiliarity with computers and key boards, Mimi managed to type in the word it as Neteru spelt it out for her. "Click 'okay." Mimi clicked the "okay" button using the mouse and a short list of matches appeared. Neteru told Mimi to scroll down the list as Neteru read all the books.

"Stop" ordered Neteru when he noticed a particular book which was entitled "Magical Artifacts of Our Universe."

"Mimi, it's that book we're looking for." said Neteru.

"Which one?" asked Mimi. "I don't know how to read yet."

"It's the book called 'Magical Artifacts of Our Universe." said Neteru. "Now, we just have to write the book's code number and then we can search for it." Neteru noticed a pad of paper next to the computer. Also nearby was a pen connected by a chain attached to the table. Neteru leaped out of the purse and ran over to the pen. He lifted up the pen saying "Grooba" as he lifted the pen. Although he was a little awkward with the pen, he wrote down the number of the book on the paper. Neteru then tore off the paper from the pad and gave it to Mimi.

"Now Mimi, click 'log out." said Neteru. Using the mouse, Mimi clicked on the "Log Out" button on the screen and the computer reverted back to the main screen.

Neteru led Mimi through the bookshelves searching through the books by the code numbers written on the spines of the books. Mimi managed to find the book entitled "Magical Artifacts of Our Universe" and pulled it out. The book was heavy and it looked like it hadn't left the shelf in years. As Mimi carried the book to a nearby table, Hamtaro asked, "How could a book on magic exist in a human library?"

"Although humans are oblivious to magic, they are not entirely oblivious." answered Neteru.

"Oblivious?" said Hamtaro. "What does that mean?" Neteru didn't answer because Mimi had already put the book on a table and was ready to flip through the pages. Neteru looked around the room to make sure no one was looking. Certain that no one would see them, Neteru, Mara, and Hamtaro jumped out of the purse saying "Oopaa" as they did.

"Okay, open the book and flip through the pages until you find the table of contents." said Neteru. Mimi did as she was told and with Neteru's guidance, she went through several of the sections that might be useful. After about thirty minutes without success, Mimi came across a page that talked about an artifact called the Ankorbak Pylons. Neteru's eyes were wide with surprise when he noticed a picture of the pylons and realized that they were the exact same pylons he saw in his dream. Although it was only an artist's conceptual drawing, it was a perfect match. Neteru read the article under picture:

_The Ankorbak Pylons were believed to be a tool of the gods. With this artifact, people could actually summon spells with the power of a deity. Very little is known about this artifact, only that it exists in a city called Ankorbak._

The voice of the hedgehog's message played out in Neteru's mind: "Ankorbak is within your reach. Once you find your purpose to go there, first travel to a ham-ham city called Rokugon and find the ancient seer." Neteru's vision all made sense now.

"This is like my dream." said Neteru.

"Heke?" said Hamtaro. "What dream?"

"You mean your vision?" asked Mara.

"Yes, it all makes sense now." said Neteru. "This artifact is bound to be the only way to bring those humans back to normal and it says right here that it is in a city called Ankorbak. This is what the dream was trying to tell me. We were meant to go to Ankorbak so we can change those humans back."

"So we're going to Ankorbak to find these pylons?" asked Hamtaro.

"Yes but we must first go to the city of Rokugon and find some ancient seer first." said Neteru.

"Why must we see a seer?" asked Mara.

"Perhaps he or she has some kind of clue to finding the city." said Neteru.

"Rokugon will be a long trip." pointed out Mara.

"I know." said Neteru. "But it is the only way and besides, it is obvious fate or some other divine force wants us to go and if so, perhaps we may have a bigger purpose in going than even I have expected."


	5. The Legend of Ankorbak

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 5: The Legend of Ankorbak

Mimi put the book back on the shelf before leaving the library and walking home. As she reached her home, she was met with fright when she saw her mom carrying baby Tina in her arms. Mimi's mom was stepping out of the car and was on her way to the house/shop.

"Mimi, run." ordered Neteru noticing that Mimi's mom (sorry, I don't know her name). Mimi ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. She ran behind the shop and entered through the back door. She quickly took off her shoes and socks as Neteru, Mara, and Hamtaro leaped out of the purse. Mimi immediately sat down next to her dolls and pretended that she was busy playing with the dolls. Neteru, Mara, and Hamtaro noticed the other Ham-Hams on top of Mimi's dresser and they all climbed to the top of it to join the others. Mimi's mom walked into the room carrying Tina and a bag of groceries.

"Hello Mimi, anything happened while I was gone?" she asked.

"Nope." answered Mimi. The Ham-Hams ran down the dresser and went out the door. Before Neteru left, he said to Mimi, "Thanks for all your help." Mimi whispered in response, "You're welcome." before Neteru disappeared out of sight.

When they all reached the Clubhouse, the Ham-Hams were talking all at once asking about what Neteru had found out. Neteru shouted out to tell them to quiet down. Once everyone was quiet, Neteru said, "We discovered an ancient artifact called the Ankorbak Pylons. This artifact should be more than powerful enough to revert the humans back to normal."

"But where do we find the pylons?" asked June excited.

"It's in a city called Ankorbak." said Mara.

"Ankorbak?" asked Travis. "There's no such city."

"I don't know what or where it is but I suspect that it's in a ham-ham city." said Neteru.

"Heke, a ham-ham city?" chorused the former humans.

"You mean that ham-hams actually have their own cities?" asked Laura.

"Yes actually." said Neteru. "They're all far from human civilizations but they do exist."

"So we are supposed to find some city run by ham-hams?" asked Kylie.

"Exactly." said Neteru.

"But if you don't know where the city is, how are you going to find it." asked Kana.

"I know this may sound crazy but two nights ago, I had a dream that told me that if I needed to go to Ankorbak, I must first go to another ham-ham city called Rokugon and find an ancient seer." said Neteru.

"Why go there?" asked Laura.

"Perhaps this seer may have some information or a hint as how to find Ankorbak." suggested Neteru.

"But how are we going to get to Rokugon?" asked Travis.

"We're going to have to walk." said Neteru.

"Walk?" said Laura. "At this height, it would take us forever."

"You could try the Ham-Ham Train." suggested Panda.

"No, we will be going through deep wilderness and the trails might be too rocky for the Ham-Ham Train." said Neteru. "And the underground tunnels don't go out to the forests that deep. We could use it to get out of town but that is it."

"Wont it be dangerous to go out into the forests when you're that small?" asked Laura.

"I'm afraid it will be." said Neteru. "Don't worry, Mara and I will be at your side the whole time."

"What? You mean we're coming too." chorused Laura, Travis, Kana, June, and Kylie.

"Yes you're coming."' said Neteru. "You can't be humans again if we don't take you to those pylons."

"Well, what about the rest of the Ham-Hams?" asked Laura.

"Sorry, we would love to help but we can't leave." said Panda.

"Oui, our humans would be worried sick eef we just vanished for a few days." said Bijou.

"I could come along." said Hamtaro.

"Heke?" chorused the Ham-Hams.

"I don't want my human to go on this hard and dangerous adventure alone." said Hamtaro.

"Oh Hamtaro, you're so brave." said Bijou.

"If he's coming, then I'm coming too." said Boss not wanting Hamtaro to steal all of Bijou's attention.

"Well I'm coming too." said Oxnard surprising everyone, including himself.

"Then it's settled." said Neteru. "Oxnard, Hamtaro, Boss, Mara, and myself shall lead the humans to Rokugon and then to Ankorbak. We make preparations at once."

Everyone packed up supplies for the ten adventurers by gathering the largest back packs they could find and stuffing them with food, tools, and other necessities. The former humans couldn't help but feel nervous since they had never been this small in their lives and the thought of going out into the open hamster size was rather frightening. Oxnard was also a little nervous but determined to help. The Clubhouse supplied no weapons except for Boss's ax which Boss put on a belt strapped around his waste. Since the other Ham-Hams had no weapons, they depended on Neteru and Mara as their only defense. They got all their back packs and brought them to the Ham-Ham Fun Park to wait for Panda's Ham-Ham Train to arrive. As they waited, the former humans observed their surroundings amazed at the beautiful fun park they were in.

"Where did this fun park come from?" asked Laura to Hamtaro.

"Oh, we built it ourselves." said Hamtaro.

"All by yourselves?" asked Kana.

"Yep." said Hamtaro. Boss, Neteru, Oxnard, and Mara carried the last of the back packs and put them on top of the pile of back packs they were making. Boss's ax remained attached to Boss's belt which made Boss some what more threatening some how.

"That's the last of them." said Boss as he put the last back pack on top. "Now where is Panda with the train?" The moment Boss said that, he saw all the other Ham-Hams pushing the train towards them. The train looked like an ordinary toy train with train cars filled with rows upon rows of seats. Each seat was equipped with peddles which are used to propel the train forward. The former humans were amazed at the contraption before them.

"Can this thing actually run?" asked Travis.

"Yes it does." said Panda as he got into the drivers seat. "I built it so we can travel more farther."

"Have you ever used this thing before?" asked Travis.

"Once we used it so we can follow Mr. Yoshi's class on that hiking field trip." said Panda. "Okay, load the back packs in the baggage car." At the end of the second car was a smaller car designed for carrying cargo which was known as the baggage car. All the back packs were stacked onto the little car and tightly strapped in. Then all five of the former humans, plus Neteru, Mara, Oxnard, Hamtaro, and Boss got onto the train followed by Stan and Sandy who took the remaining two seats. Cappy, Maxwell, Dexter, and Howdy squeezed onto the baggage car with all the other back packs. There was no room to sit so Cappy, Maxwell, Dexter, and Howdy had to stand while holding onto the straps that held the back packs.

"Everyone ready?" said Panda as he got himself into position in the driver's seat. After everyone gave Panda their approval to start, Panda said, "Okay, so here we go." Panda pulled on the chain causing the train's horn to blow. The passengers began to pump the peddles and the train began to move forward. Bijou, Pashmina, and Penelope all waved good-bye as the train moved forward.

"Bye-Q, send me a post card when you reach Rokugon." said Pashmina.

"Au revoir Ham-Hams." said Bijou as she waved good-bye.

"Ookwee, Ookwee, Ookwee." repeated Penelope jumping up and down. The train rode on into a nearby tunnel and out of site.

The train rode through the dark underground tunnels with the light on the front of the train providing the only light source. They all worked the puddles attached to the floor of the train repeating "Hamma-Hamma-Hamma-Hamma-Choo-Choo" as they did. After about thirty minutes peddling, they came to the end of the tunnel which ended at the edge of a forest on the other side of the town and far from the out-door school Laura and the others were supposed to be in.

"Okay, here is where you guys get off." said Panda. They all got out of their seats and began removing the back packs. Laura looked up at the trees above and was overwhelmed by how tall they were. Laura was not used to seeing everything so big and even now it still bothered her that a cat or even a squirrel could be bigger than her. Laura tried to shove these thought out of her mind as she picked up her back pack. Mara, Neteru, Hamtaro, Boss, Oxnard, and the former humans all put on a back pack ready to make their difficult trip. Cappy, Howdy, Maxwell, Dexter, Stan, and Sandy all got on the seats of the Ham-Ham Train, ready to peddle the train back home with Panda once again in the drivers seat.

"Bye-Q you guys." said Panda. "Good luck on your journey."

"Are you sure you have enough Ham-Hams to move that train?" asked Boss.

"It will be difficult but I'm sure we can manage." said Panda.

"Easy for you to say." said Howdy. "You're not the one who has to do all the peddling."

"Good luck you guys." said Maxwell. All of them said their good-byes as Panda drove the Ham-Ham Train back into the tunnel and out of sight leaving the ten adventurers alone.

"Well, we're burning day light so lets get moving." said Neteru. They began the long and hard hike to the city of Rokugon.

Eight hours later, the adventurers were still on their long hike and exhaustion was clearly visible on their faces. Only Mara, Neteru, and Boss didn't seem so tired. Infact, Neteru and Mara was actually singing a song the others had never heard before. It was an unusual song that appeared to be about two young lovers. When it ended, Mara said to Neteru, "Oh Neteru, it's been years since we sang that song together." Indeed, the two looked like they were actually enjoying themselves despite all the tired ham-hams who followed behind them.

"I'm tired, can we stop?" complained Laura.

"Yes, I could go for a lunch brake." said Oxnard.

"Let's let them rest, Neteru." said Mara.

"Well, it is about time for dinner." said Neteru. They all stopped and sat on the ground. They all pulled out their food and began to eat. It felt relaxing to finally have a chance to rest because they had been hiking for eight hours strait. Fortunately, the trees in the forest provided a lot of shade. It was then that Laura noticed that the trees were becoming more numerous as they got deeper into the forest. Laura had no idea how much further they had to go but she knew that this trip was her only chance at being human again.

Hamtaro's sensitive ears picked up an unusual sound.

"Do you guys hear that?" asked Hamtaro. They all listened carefully and they could hear the sound of something moving through the trees. They also heard what sounded like guitar music, awfully familiar guitar music. They then heard a voice saying, "Like a rainbow in the darkness, a masterpiece unsigned, a hole with no donut, I drift, unchained and free..."

"I know that poem anywhere." said Neteru. Boss, Hamtaro, Neteru, Mara, and Oxnard all stood up, cupped their paws around their mouths and began shouting, "Jingle, over here." From within the trees, they could see Herbert the pig and on his back was Jingle with the same guitar and the same sword on his belt that he wore when they last saw him. Jingle could clearly see his friends ahead of him and so Jingle steered Herbert towards the Ham-Hams.

Once he got close enough, he said, "Hello Ham-bleepo."

"HAMTARO!" shouted Hamtaro annoyed.

"And Neteru, good to see you." said Jingle ignoring Hamtaro's shouts. "And Mara, you're as lovely as always." Mara blushed. Jingle slid off Herbert's back and landed on the ground. Laura and the other former humans were rather surprised by this new arrival.

"Who are you?" asked Laura.

"My name is Jingle and I'm a traveling bard." said Jingle.

"What's a bard?" asked Laura.

"A bard is a performer who uses magic through the power of music." explained Neteru.

"So Jingle can cast spells just by playing a song?" asked Laura.

"That is correct." said Jingle. "So why are you guys here? It's awfully far from home."

"Well see those five over there." said Neteru pointing at Laura and the former humans. "They are humans who were changed into ham-hams through powerful magic." said Neteru. "We're going to the city of Ankorbak in order to change them back." Jingle seemed surprised by this news.

"Well obviously you never heard of Ankorbak before because if you did, you wouldn't be going there." said Jingle. Neteru was surprised by this statement.

"Why do you say that?" asked Neteru.

"Because I'm a bard and as a bard, I pick up a lot of information in my travels." said Jingle.

"Well, tell us what you know about Ankorbak." said Neteru.

"Very well, I tell you." said Jingle. He sat on the ground as did everyone else. Jingle plucked a guitar string and he began to tell his story.

"There have been many versions of the story but they all describe a town that was built long ago by some Ham-Hams of mystical power. According to legend, Ankorbak was made by the first ham-hams created by Neanna, goddess of the ham-hams. These ham-hams wanted to construct a monument to her honor so they built an underground city. The ham-hams within Ankorbak were dedicated worshipers of Neanna. The clerics who worshiped her were capable of drawing magic from Neanna granting them spells to keep the city functioning. Through the use of magic, the inhabitants of Ankorbak were capable of growing crops underground, provide for medical attention to ham-hams in need, and protect the city from danger. The city was peaceful and prosperous but it didn't last. Without warning, a powerful and destructive magic ran through the city and killed every single ham-ham there. With its inhabitants gone, Ankorbak remained a lost city to this day." Everyone fell silent as Jingle finished the story.

"But why is it dangerous to go to the city?" asked Neteru.

"The city is designed with magical traps to keep out intruders." said Jingle. "If those rummers are to be believed, then those traps would still be as strong today as they were when they were first created. Also, it is rumored that the magic that destroyed the ham-hams in Ankorbak left something behind."

"Like what?" asked Hamtaro.

"No one knows." said Jingle. "Maybe it's a monster, a curse, or even the most foulest devil to grace our world."

"Well, what ever is in there, we still need the magical pylons to change these humans back to normal." said Neteru.

"But how are you going to get to Ankorbak when no one has found it?" asked Jingle.

"There is a seer in Rokugon who should be able to help us." said Neteru.

"You're going to Rokugon?" asked Jingle. "How are you supposed to pay for food and lodging? Do you have any money?"

"Uh, no, I never thought of that." admitted Neteru.

"Don't worry, I can help you out." said Jingle. "I was born and raised in Rokugon, not to mention I have family in Rokugon who would help us."

"You never told me you lived in Rokugon." said Neteru surprised.

"Why don't you all hop on Herbert and I can give you a ride to Rokugon." said Jingle. Herbert laid onto the ground enabling Jingle and the others to climb onto his back.

"Onward to Rokugon, Herbert." said Jingle. Herbert walked forward and the trip to Rokugon continues.


	6. An Unknown Enemy

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 6: An Unknown Enemy

They all road on Herbert's back, glad to finally have transportation. As it began to get dark, Jingle plucked a guitar string and said, "_Illuminosa_." The spell caused three glowing spheres of light to appear around his head. The spheres followed Jingle around and provided them with light for them to see by.

"How did you do that?" asked Travis.

"Like I mentioned, I'm a bard." said Jingle. "I possess the power to cast spells through the power of music."

"So you're some kind of sorcerer who can play music?" asked Laura.

"Something like that but no bard can cast spells as powerful as a sorcerer can." said Jingle.

"Do you travel a lot?" asked Laura.

"I travel all the time." said Jingle. "Infact, I'm often restless if I stay in one place for too long."

"Hey Jingle, is Rokugon dominated by samurai and ninjas like I've heard?" said Neteru.

"That is correct." said Jingle. "Samurai and ninja are the most common type of ham-ham in Rokugon."

"But if you lived in Rokugon, how come you never became a samurai?" asked Neteru.

"Well, both my parents wanted me to be a samurai but I didn't enjoy all the strict dedication and training involved in becoming a samurai." explained Jingle. "I knew I was more happier if I traveled so I studied to be a bard even though my parents were furious at me for doing so."

"Samurais and ninjas?" said Boss. "Like the ones that evil spirit used on us."

"No, the samurais and ninjas created by Ulzogga were nothing more than mutated monster created through magic." explained Neteru. "Real ninjas and samurai don't cast spells or serve evil spirits like those creatures were. Real ninjas and samurai tend to follow codes and they are even more tuffer than those phony conjurations of Ulzogga."

"They will be friendly, right?" asked Hamtaro.

"As long as you don't offend them or break the law, they should be friendly." said Jingle. "Rokugon is a natural cosmopolitan and it's not as xenophobic as some claim it to be so they are often friendly to visitors." Laura yawned loudly as drowsiness began to take over.

"Perhaps we should stop for the night." suggested Neteru noticing Laura's drowsiness. Jingle directed Herbert to the side and they all stopped for the night.

By the time midnight came, the eleven wearied travelers (and Herbert) had all fallen asleep. With nothing but a blanket to sleep on, they all slept soundly, too tired to allow the hard ground to keep them up. The full moon over head shown brightly lighting up the landscape in its white glow. Not a single wind blew that night and the night was warm do to the summer heat but despite its com appearance, there was danger lurking in the darkness. This threat was not a predator or some harsh weather. It is, infact, a ham-ham who was quietly lurking through the darkness. This ham-ham was as toll as Maxwell and he even has Maxwell's oval shaped ears. The hamster was all white except for some brown spots which covered his entire body. One large oval shaped spot covered the ham-ham's eyes making him look like he has a raccoon mask. The ham-ham wore a gold chain neckless around his neck with a green gem on it. On his back was a long wooden quarterstaff attached by a black strap that wrapped around the ham-ham at a diagonal angle resting on his right shoulder.

The ham-ham approached the unsuspecting adventurers cautiously, trying not to make too much noise and accidentally wake them up. He found the ham-hams all sleeping soundly next to Herbert's massive body. The ham-ham looked at the eleven adventurers before him and he didn't know what to do next. He didn't expect so many here which made his task more tricker. The ham-ham observed them and even in the dark, he noticed the staffs next to Neteru and Mara. He knew instantly that these two were sorcerers so he had to kill them first...

The ham-ham pulled out a dagger and he carefully walked over the sleeping bodies towards Neteru. Because of the fact that Mara was such a light sleeper, the sound of the ham-ham's movements actually woke her up. As she opened her eyes, she could see the ham-ham lifting the dagger high over Neteru's heart. When Mara realized what she was looking at, Mara shouted, "_Saya_." The spell shot a beam of red light from Mara's fingers which struck the dagger and the dagger flew strait into the air. This move surprised the ham-ham which caused him to shout out and accidentally kick Neteru waking him up instantly. By know, the noise had awoken everyone.

"Neteru, there's a..." but before Mara could finish her sentence, the ham-ham struck her hard in the forehead with his quarterstaff knocking her unconscious. Neteru responded with another spell: "_Saya yee_." An even bigger beam of light launched from Neteru's paws and the beam tossed the ham-ham through the air. The ham-ham flew about two feet away and landed easily on both feet. Jingle quickly cast a spell: "_Illuminosa_." Three spheres of bright light appeared blinding everyone, including the attacker. When everyone's eyes adjusted to the change in light, Boss ran towards the attacker with his ax held high.

"So you want to pick on someone while they're asleep, do you?" said Boss as he ran. Boss was about to bring the ax down on the spotted ham-ham but the ham-ham immediately pulled out his quarterstaff and stopped the blow in mid air. While he held the ax using his quarterstaff, the ham-ham kicked Boss in the crotch. Boss dropped the ax as he grabbed himself in pain.

"Ouchichi." said Boss in pain. The ham-ham quickly took this opportunity to hit Boss hard on the side of his head. Boss fell over barely conscious. The ham-ham aimed his quarterstaff at the others ready to attack the next person who tries to be a hero. The former humans quivered in fear. Realizing it was up to them, Hamtaro and Oxnard immediately picked up nearby sticks and charged towards the ham-ham. But before they could reach the ham-ham, a strange cone radiated from the ham-ham's forehead. The cone made the air ripple like humidity from heat as it traveled through the air and went through Oxnard and Hamtaro as if they were nothing. There was a low hum as both Hamtaro and Oxnard froze into statues.

"Mind blast." said Neteru as he recognized what he had just witnessed.

The ham-ham raised his quarterstaff awaiting Neteru to make his move. Neteru was determined so he held up his staff and said, "_Magna dorock_." There was a flash of green light as his magic staff changed into a large glowing sword. Neteru leaped into the air with his sword held up high and the two fought with stunning speed and agility. Neteru was about to run his sword through the ham-ham but suddenly, there was a soft hum followed by a flash of white light. The ham-ham had teleported and repaired behind Neteru. The ham-ham swung his quarterstaff and struck Neteru in the side of the head. Neteru recovered from the blow quickly and was about to make another stab with his sword but the ham-ham unleashed another mind blast. The cone of rippling air pasted through Neteru and he could feel the mind blast working its way into his brain trying to paralyze him but Neteru threw off the effects of the blast and continued to fight.

Suddenly, there was a song in the air. Jingle was nearby playing his guitar. The song was actually affecting the ham-ham's concentration and he quickly realized that he was slipping up. The others watched as the ham-ham was no longer reacting as quickly while Neteru began to take the upper hand. The ham-ham realized he was beaten so he teleported away. Once the ham-ham was gone, the mind blast that paralyzed Oxnard and Hamtaro had worn off and the two toppled over. Also nearby, Boss was getting back onto his feet.

"Ouchichi." said Hamtaro as he got back onto his feet.

"What happened?" asked Oxnard as he got up. Neteru, however, was more focused on Mara who still lay unconscious on the ground. He kneeled down to Mara and gently shook her.

"Mara, wake up." said Neteru frantically. Mara slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Neteru. "Say something." Mara groaned in pain.

"Oh, my head." complained Mara.

"Are you all right?" asked Neteru.

"My head hurts but I'm alright otherwise." said Mara smiling back up at Neteru. Neteru also smiled back. Neteru reached into a nearby back pack and pulled out a rag. He waved one hand and said, "_Vuv_." From his hand, snow began to appear and it collected into the rag. Neteru wrapped the snow in the rag and placed the ice pack on Mara's head as she was laid back against Herbert who, miraculously, remained asleep through the whole attack. As Mara laid back, Neteru picked up his staff which had changed back from a sword awhile ago.

"What was that strange ham?" asked Hamtaro.

"I've never seen a spell user like him." said Jingle. "He didn't even use any hand gestures or verbal components. What kind of spell user can do that?"

"What attacked us was no magic user of any type." said Neteru cooly. "It was a psion."

"A psion?" chorused Mara and Jingle.

"What would a psion want to do with us?" asked Jingle.

"Heke, what's a psion?" asked Hamtaro.

"A psion is a practitioner of the art of psionics." explained Neteru.

"Psionics?" said Boss. "What is that supposed to be?"

"Psionics is basically a fancy way of describing psychic powers." said Neteru.

"So we were attacked by some psychic?" asked Travis.

"Yes." answered Neteru. "Psionics has been known to have the same capabilities and powers as magic but the way how it works is different compared to magic. Psions don't cast their psionic powers like magic users do. They do what is known as manifest them which means they just mediate the powers in their heads. Such a phenomenon can be recognized by either an auditory low hum or a bell sound, an olfactory display, or some kind of visual display."

"Can you combat such a force?" asked Travis.

"I don't know." admitted Neteru. "Psionics is different than magic. It has some advantages to it such as better telekinesis, better item creation capabilities, better teleportation, and even more better mind control capabilities."

"So what are we going to do now?" asked Laura.

"We press on as planned and we will be on our guard the whole time." said Neteru.

Neteru suddenly remembered the knife that the psion had left behind so Neteru decided to go out and get it before the psion comes back to retrieve it. But as he walked out of the light, he quickly realized that it was too dark outside of the light to find the knife.

"Jingle, bring me a light sphere." said Neteru. Jingle went over to Neteru allowing one of those glowing spheres to follow him while the remaining two stayed near the others.

"What is it you want, Neteru?" asked Jingle.

"The psion had a knife of some kind and I want to retrieve it before the psion comes back for it." explained Neteru.

"I'll help you look for it." said Jingle. The two of them searched the area. As they were searching, Jingle asked, "Neteru, is there something going on between you and Mara?" Neteru was surprised by the question.

"No, why do you ask?" said Neteru.

"I saw that look you and Mara gave each other as you were checking on her." said Jingle. "Indeed, ever since you and Mara got together again, there has been something going on between you and Mara. I've seen it before, love is blossoming between you two." Neteru didn't know how to respond. Neteru looked away from Jingle so Jingle wouldn't notice the fact that he was blushing. As Neteru turned his head, he saw the small dagger lying on the ground. He picked up the knife and said, "Jingle, I have the knife." The two of them walked over to the others. All the former humans and Oxnard were already fast asleep by the time they got back.

"What did you find?" whispered Mara.

"Just the knife the psion had." said Neteru.

"The others were too tired to worry." explained Hamtaro.

"Well, we have a hard day tomorrow as well so we should get some sleep." said Neteru. When Neteru settled down on the ground, Jingle dispelled the light spheres and once again, they were engulfed in the moon light. As the others fell asleep, Neteru laid wide awake, thinking about what Jingle had said. When he noticed Mara sleeping nearby, he moved his blanket to her side. He placed an arm around her and fell asleep with Mara at his side.

_Author's Note: I've been trying to find the perfect place in the story to explain why Neteru can't use a teleportation spell to teleport himself to Rokugon but so far, I haven't found the right place to do that so I will have to stick with an Author's Note. The reason why Neteru can't use the teleporation spell is because a teleportation spell can only transport people to places they are familiar with. Since neither Mara or Neteru have been in Rokugon, they can't use a teleportion spell._


	7. Welcome To Rokugon

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 7: Welcome To Rokugon

_Author's Note: Light Sneasel was asking about how much energy does a teleporation spell drain. Well first, I would like to point out that whether you are using magic or psionics, it can be draining. Every time you use a psionic power or cast a spell, it drains you and it can make you very tired and weak if you use too much of it in a short time period. More advanced users can last longer using lots of spells at once than a beginner can. Teleportation can drain you like all spells can but distance is not a contributing factor. Whether you are teleporting an inch away or clear across the galaxy, distance does not play a contributing factor in how much energy you lose when teleporting. Teleporation is much more easier with psionics than magic. It uses less energy and less focus, to the extent that psions can teleport to short distances rapidly, even during combat. A feat that is difficult with magic. Both magic and psionics have their advantages and disadvantages in one way or anther._

Three days had past since that night they were attacked. Concerned that the psion may strike again, every night, Neteru would put up a spell that would protect them while they were asleep. If the psion attacked them during the night, Neteru would know about it. So far, the psion hasn't shown himself since that first attack but Neteru suspects that the psion is still following them, waiting for the perfect chance to strike again. What his motives are, Neteru is not sure but he and Mara are convinced they haven't seen the last of that psion.

On the fourth day of their journey, our weary travelers were all dirty and hungry since they were low on food. All of them rode on Herbert's back and they have certainly seen better days.

"Are we there yet?" complained Oxnard as his stomach growled.

"Not much further, my friends." said Jingle. As Herbert pushed aside some bushes, the tired travelers were greeted by their first sign of civilization in days, even if it was hamster size. Surrounded by an eight inch high wall was a large city filled with buildings of all shapes and sizes. They all cheered with joy, happy to see relief from their life hiking through the forests.

"At last, I can have a hot bath." said Laura.

"I can eat some food." said Oxnard.

"I can finally rest my feet." said Kylie.

"But how are we going to pay for such luxuries if we don't have the money to pay for it?" pointed out Neteru. Everyone made an anime sweat drop.

"Not to worry," reassured Jingle, "like I said, I have family in Rokugon who will help us out. All we have to do is find them."

"Well, I hope we can find them." said Neteru.

Neteru led Herbert towards a nearby entrance through the wall. The door was large enough to fit Herbert through but there was a ham-ham blocking their path. The ham-ham was a samurai dressed in red colored samurai armor. On the samurai's belt were two sheaths, one held her katana and other held her wakizashi. The samurai held up her paw indicating that she wanted them to stop. Neteru and Mara stopped Herbert then jumped off of the pig in order to speak with the samurai.

"Welcome to Rokugon, do you have your IDs and permission papers to enter Rokugon?" said the samurai.

"No." said Neteru rather surprised by the request. "Why do you want such a thing?"

"Because there has been an increasing number of bandits entering this city and until it is reduced, we are required to take precautions." said the samurai. "If you have no IDs, then you can pose a threat to Rokugon and not only that, those staffs indicate you are both sorcerers and you can easily use your powers to cause trouble."

"Now see here." said Neteru offended. "We are just weary travelers looking for a place to stay. Just who are you and what business is it of yours to past judgment on a ham-ham who wheeled a staff?"

"My name is Soshi from the Hida family." said the samurai. "And I am under orders to protect the city from all unfriendly intruders." Upon hearing the samurai's name, Jingle quickly jumped off of Herbert's back and landed in front of Soshi.

"Come on, sis, don't you trust your brother to pick good friends." said Jingle to Soshi. Soshi stared wide eyed at Jingle.

"Jingle, is that you?" asked Soshi.

"The one and the same." said Jingle. Thrilled, Soshi ran over and hugged Jingle.

"Jingle, you've came to visit." said Soshi. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in a year."

"Well, you know me, I go in many random directions." said Jingle. "But it's great to see you again, sis." Boss jumped off of Herbert's back and said "Daplunk" as he landed.

"Jingle, do you know her?" asked Boss.

"Why yes I do." said Jingle. "Everyone, this is my little sister, Soshi."

"Hamha, Soshi." said Hamtaro. He and Oxnard shouted "Oopaa" as the two of them leaped off of Herbert and landed next to Boss.

"My name is Hamtaro."

"And I'm Oxnard."

"Boss is what they call me."

"My name is Neteru and this is Mara." said Neteru pointing to Mara.

"Neteru and Mara?" said Soshi. "Oh yeah, Jingle's told me all about you two."

"Listen, Soshi, we're all tired and we need a place to sleep and we also need money." said Jingle.

"Oh, no problem, bro." said Soshi. "As soon as the next samurai comes to take my place, I can take you all to my home."

"When will that take?" asked Boss.

"Actually, my shift is already over." explained Soshi. "But the stupid ham who was supposed to take my place has not shown up yet." At that moment, a ham-ham samurai wearing green armor walked towards Soshi.

"Hey Soshi, sorry I'm late." said the ham-ham.

"Late!" said Soshi irritated. "This is the third time in three days you have kept be waiting."

"I'm sorry, Soshi." said the ham-ham.

"If you're late again, I will personally tell your daimyo about your incompetence in showing up on time." said Soshi. The ham-ham was intimidated by Soshi and quickly got on to his post. Soshi turned to Jingle and said, "I'm sorry but you will have to tie up Herbert out here. He's too big to wander around the city."

"Do you have any rope?" asked Jingle.

"Yes, just let me get it for you." Soshi walked over to a small shed. She opened the door and there was a long rope. She said "Grooba" as she lifted the rope out of the shed. It took some team work from Boss and Soshi but they managed to tie up Herbert to the side of the wall.

"You wait here, Herbet, until I come back for you." said Jingle and then he followed the others into Rokugon.

The eleven travelers followed Soshi through the rural parts of Rokugon repeating "Ticky-Ticky" as they walked. Although they were only in the rural parts of Rokugon, it was an amazing sight to behold. The walked along a clean gravel road before them and along the road were many ham-ham size houses. Perhaps the closest comparison to the rural areas of Rokugon would be Hobbiton from "Lord of the Rings." The surrounding homes were slightly unusual looking since they were made out of materials smaller than you would normally have built into a home but none the less, they all looked functional and with a simple and old fashioned appearance. There was also some homes that were constructed into mounds of dirt with little round doors sticking out, just like the hobbit homes from the movie. But what really gave the village that Hobbiton feel was the friendliness of all the ham-hams. Ham-hams of every shape, size, and color lived there and they all were carrying out their busy day or having fun in the sun. Although the majority of all the ham-hams there wore no cloths, there were some that wore vests, dresses, hats, and there was one that wore pants. Every ham-ham they met as they followed Soshi had greeted the visitors kindly with friendly greetings and waves. There was even little ham-ham children just playing out in the fields. The little hams reminded Kylie of Penelope and it also reminded her how much she missed Penelope.

Soshi led them all to a home buried underground in the side of a mound of dirt. She invited them all inside and they found themselves inside a home that resembled the earthy interior of the clubhouse. The home had a much lower ceiling than in the Clubhouse and it also had some hamster size furniture. Soshi took off the belt that held her katana and wakizashi and placed it inside a nearby cabinet. Soshi then took off her armor with some help from her brother. Once she she had removed her armor, she revealed that she had white fur that was covered in spots that were the same brownish-yellow color as Jingle's fur and she even had one spot over her right eye. She sat down in the nearest chair obviously a little hot judging by the sweat down her head.

"Oh that armor gets so hot this time of year." said Soshi fanning herself with one paw.

"So what were you doing there at the entrance?" asked Jingle.

"I was assigned to guard duty." explained Soshi.

"Is that all samurais do?" asked Travis in hopes of finding out more about Soshi.

"No, we're primarily trained warriors." explained Soshi. "We serve the empire of Rokugon and our daimyos."

"What's a daimyo?" asked Kana.

"A daimyo is basically the leader of our clan." explained Soshi. "All samurai are bound to the clan our family is a part of and all samurai are bound to serve the daimyo of our clan and the empire according to the rules of Bushido."

"Heke?" said Hamtaro. "What's Bushido?"

"It's the samurai honor code." said Jingle. "If it's one thing that all samurais care about, it's honor and the code of Bushido basically is a list of rules that samurai feel is honorable and they follow them. There are nine tenets in the code of Bushido: Honesty, Courage, Compassion, Courtesy, Honor, Sincerity, Duty, Responsibility, and Family. All these tenets are basically the samurais' highest priorities."

"Sounds tough." said Boss.

"Yes, but I feel it is worth it." said Soshi. "In my opinion, honor determines how special we are. I feel that I bring pride to my family by following Bushido."

"That's fascinating." said Travis. "Have you been in a fight lots of time."

"No." said Soshi. "Rokugon has been relatively peaceful these past decade so I've barely had any excitement since I became a samurai."

"Hey Soshi, why don't you show us around Rokugon." suggested Hamtaro.

"Yeah, I could use some food." said Oxnard.

"Well, I could take you all to the restaurant down town." suggested Soshi as she stood up. "My treat."

"Certainly." said Jingle.

"Just let me get my purse." said Soshi as she walked over to a drawer. She opened the drawer and pulled out a large bag that jingled with coins.

"Come on, I'll take you into town." said Soshi. They all followed Soshi out the door and walked into town repeating "Chick-ah Chick-ah" as they walked.

As the twelve travelers walked out of the rural areas of Rokugon, they entered the larger cities which were even more impressive than the rural areas. There were many buildings and homes made out of wood and clay and the streets were filled with ham-hams. Although there were some who wore no cloths, there were many who wore cloths to as cheep as ratty looking peasant cloths to fancy outfits indicating wealth or power. Of-course, there were also some noticeable samurai roaming the streets and they wore the same armor that Soshi had worn and they also carried the same weapons.

Soshi led them to a restaurant called "Pete's Place" which seemed like a popular restaurant for the city. Soshi and the others stepped into the front door. A waitress with light brown fur said to Soshi, "How many will be joining?"

"Twelve." said Soshi. The waitress led the group to a large table and they all got a seat. The interior of the restaurant was decorated with many pictures and other nik naks which gave the place an old fashioned look to it. Like any busy restaurant, there was many other customers eating there. They each received a menu which included a lot of ham-ham delicacies such as sun flower seed pizza or baked acorns or a sun flower seed salad. Despite how unusual the food looked, the former humans tried the ham-ham cooking and were surprised at how good it tasted. Oxnard had finished an entire pizza all by himself and he was thinking on ordering a baked acorn until Hamtaro reminded him he was on a diet.

As they were all finishing their meals, Hamtaro noticed a ham-ham eating a sun flower sandwich at a smaller table. The ham-ham had an amazing resemblance to Cappy with the white fur and brown ears. The only features about this ham-ham that indicated that he wasn't Cappy was the fact that his body was more peanut shaped than Cappy's and he wasn't wearing a hat. But there was something familiar about this ham-ham, like they have met before.

"Hey Oxnard, do you see that ham-ham over there?" said Hamtaro. Oxnard looked over and noticed the ham-ham Hamtaro was talking about. "Doesn't he look familiar?"

"Ya, he does." said Oxnard. Jingle over heard their conversation and looked in the direction they were looking.

"Well, I'll be." said Jingle. Jingle got up and walked towards the ham-ham at the table. He tapped onto the ham-ham's shoulder and said, "Hey cousin, where have you been?" The ham-ham looked up at Jingle and said with surprise, "Jingle?"

"Yep." said Jingle.

"I don't believe it, you actually came back." said the ham-ham as he stood up to give Jingle a quick hug. When Hamtaro heard the ham-ham's voice, he immediately recognize where he had heard it. Hamtaro jumped out of his seat and said, "I know who you are, you're Nin-Ham." The ham-ham looked at Hamtaro and was surprised to see him.

"Hamtaro?" said the ham-ham. Everyone at the table stared wide eyed at the little white ham-ham.

"You're right, Hamtaro, that is Nin-Ham." said Boss.

"You guys, I would like to introduce to you all to my little cousin Nin-Ham." said Jingle.

"Hey, Hamtaro, long time no see." said Nin-Ham.

"You know our cousin, Nin-Ham?" asked Soshi.

"Oh yeah, he came over to our neighborhood that one time." said Hamtaro.

"So what are you guys doing here, anyway?" asked Nin-Ham.

"You know, Jingle, you haven't told me why you brought all these guys here." said Soshi indicating Hamtaro and the others.

"Well, Laura, Kana, Travis, Kylie, and June are all humans who have been turned into ham-hams by a powerful magic." explained Neteru. "I tried to change them back but what ever it was that changed them into hamsters, I could not dispel it. It was obviously the work of something greater so we are going to the city of Ankorbak to find the Ankorbak Pylons which is an artifact that should be strong enough to dispel the spell."

"You're going to Ankorbak?" said Soshi surprised. "How do you expect to find it."

"I had a vision that told me that there is a seer here in Rokugon who may know where the city is." said Neteru. "Do you know where we might be able to find this seer."

"You can ask Tamori." suggest Nin-Ham.

"Who's he?" asked Boss.

"Nin-Ham and I are from the Sun Flower Clan and Tamori is our daimyo." explained Soshi. "As a daimyo, he has many connections all over Rokugon. If there is a seer here in Rokugon, he would know."

"Great, lets meet him tomorrow." said Hamtaro.

"That's fine with me." said Soshi as she put several coins into a tray to pay for their food. "Come on, lets go. Oh and Nin-Ham, will you be able to join us when we meet Tamori?"

"I'll be there waiting for you, Soshi." said Nin-Ham. They all left the restaurant except for Nin-Ham who stayed inside to finish his sandwich.

As they walked to Soshi's home, the former humans were talking to each other, exited about the possibility that they may become human again. Soshi was telling Mara and Hamtaro stories about her life as a samurai. As for Neteru, he lagged behind slowly repeating "Ticky-Ticky" as he walked. His thoughts were on the psion they had met a few days ago. Neteru occasionally looked around as he walked hoping to spot that psion if he came close. Although he knew that the odds of that psion sneaking into Rokugon with all those samurai about was slim, there was a possibility that the psion may find a way into Rokugon and he could be searching for them right this minute. If there is a place in Rokugon that the psion was familiar with, he could teleport into Rokugon. The psion could easily disguise himself or possibly force his way in if he was powerful enough. These thoughts plagued Neteru's mind, wondering what that psion is up to.

"What are you planning and what are you after?" thought Neteru to himself.

_Author's Note: A katana is a sword with a right triangle tip and a long sharp single blade. A wakizashi is a sword that looks exactly like a katana but its blade is half the length of a katana. Both the katana and wakizashi are important weapons to the samurai which will be explained in greater detail in future chapters._


	8. A Seer's Warning

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 8: A Seer's Warning

Neteru and the others slept on the hard floor of Soshi's home but at least they had a better night sleep than they did in the forest. That morning, Soshi got out of bed with the fur on her head standing up a bit. She walked town stairs to see her guests all sleeping on the floor repeating "ZuZuZu" as they slept. Soshi mischievously picked up a pot and a large spoon and began to bang the spoon hard against the pot creating a huge racket.

"Rise and shine, ham-hams." said Soshi. Everyone jumped out of their sleep shouting out in surprise.

"Who, what, where's the fire?" said Oxnard in panic.

"Sorry I startled you guys but it is time to get up." explained Soshi.

"Good one, sis." complimented Jingle. Laura began to laugh when she noticed the fur that was sticking up on Soshi's head.

"What's so funny." asked Soshi.

"Your fur is sticking up on your head." said Laura. Soshi felt the fur on her head and realized that Laura was right.

"Well check out the fur on your head." said Soshi. Laura felt her head and realized that it was indeed sticking up. Laura laughed at the fact that hamsters could get bed head.

Soshi walked over to a pantry and began pulling out carrots and seeds.

"Anyone hungry for some breakfast?" asked Soshi.

"Oh, I am." said Oxnard as he ran into the kitchen repeating "Badda-Badda" as he ran. He grabbed the carrot Soshi was holding and began nibbling on it saying "Packa-Packa" as he did. The others got up and walked into the kitchen which wasn't that hard since the kitchen was just the other half of a single room with the living room on the other half and no wall between them. Soshi began to empty out all the food from the pantry which included virtually everything ham-hams eat including carrots, lettuce, acorns, peanuts, sun flower seeds, etc. They all ate their food saying "Krmp-Krmp" as they ate.

"So when do we get to meet your daimyo?" asked Neteru nibbling on a sun flower seed.

"As soon as we get ready." said Soshi. "I have to first get my armor on and my swords. Since I'm meeting my daimyo, I have to dress formally for the occasion."

After eating, Soshi combed down the fur that was sticking up and changed into her red colored samurai armor. She then put on her belt that held her katana and wakizashi. The others also tried their best to look nice. When they were just about ready to leave, someone knocked on the door. Soshi opened the door and there was Nin-Ham dressed in the all back ninja outfit that he wore when Hamtaro first met him.

"Nin-Ham, you made it." said Soshi.

"So are you guys ready to go to see Tamori?" asked Nin-Ham.

"I'm ready." said Soshi.

"So am I." said Jingle strapping on his guitar. "How about the rest of you." One by one, they all gave their reassurance that they were ready.

"Okay, then lets go." said Nin-Ham. They all stepped out of the door and walked through the streets of Rokugon repeating "Chick-ah Chick-ah" as they walked.

It was a long walk through the Rokugon which led them out of the rural areas and into the city until they found a stone castle that was twice the size of a doll house and located a bit distant from the rest of the buildings but not by much. It looked like a typical European style castle with a hint of Chinese culture.

"Here it is, the home of Tamori, daimyo of the Sun Flower Clan." said Soshi. "He should still be home and unless he is busy with something else, we should be able to speak with him immediately." They came to the front door of the castle and noticed two ninjas guarding the door. One of the ninjas said, "What business do you have with Tamori?"

"I wish to speak with him." said Soshi. The two ninjas said no more as they stepped aside to allow Soshi and the others into the castle. The interior was certainly impressive with its decorations in the Sun Flower Clan's symbolic color (red) and with its decoration of swords and shields. As they entered the large living room, a ham-ham walked down the stairs. He was completely dark brown and had large oval shaped ears.

"Ah, Soshi, so good of you to drop by." said the ham-ham. "And Nin-Ham, I didn't expect to see you so soon." Both Nin-Ham and Soshi bowed to the ham-ham.

"Lord Tamori, it is good to see you." said Soshi to the brown ham-ham.

"It is good to see you as well." said Tamori. "I apologize that I'm not formally dressed but you came here so early that I haven't even had time to change into my armor."

"Sorry we came so soon but these weary travelers have come for your information." said Soshi.

"Is it by any chance this one that you're speaking of?" asked Tamori pointing at Jingle. "You're Jingle, aren't you?"

"Yes I am." said Jingle.

"I remember you, you are Soshi's big brother." said Tamori. "What are you doing here?"

"I merely came along with the travelers." answered Jingle. Tamori observed the travelers and noticed Neteru and Mara and judging by the staffs they were carrying, Tamori knew that they must be sorcerers.

"Sorcerers." said Tamori. "What brings them here into Rokugon?"

"These five ham-hams here are humans who have been turned into ham-hams through some unknown magic." explained Neteru as he pointed towards the former humans with his staff. "I'm searching for a way to revert them back to humans."

"Well you came to the wrong place." said Tamori. "Here in Rokugon, we seldom dabble in divine or arcane magic."

"Well you see, I believe that the only way to change them back is we must find an ancient artifact in the ruins of Ankorbak." said Neteru. Tamori jumped in surprise.

"You're looking for Ankorbak?" said Tamori is shock. "How do you expect to find it?"

"I had a vision that told me that there is a seer here in Rokugon who may have some clue on how to find the city of Ankorbak." explained Neteru. "Do you know where I can find such a seer?" Tamori thought to himself about that concept.

"Yes actually." said Tamori. "There is a seer not too far from here. You may want to start with her."

"Can you take me too her?" asked Neteru.

"Just let me get my armor on." said Tamori.

"Why do you want to put on your armor?" asked Neteru.

"I wear my armor whenever I go outside," explained Tamori, "it represents my position as a daimyo."

"Oh." said Neteru.

After Tamori got dressed in his red armor and put on his katana and wakizashi, he led Neteru through the streets of Rokugon while leaving the others back at his castle. Tamori led Neteru through the busy streets of Rokugon repeating "Ticky-Ticky" as they walked until they reached a small building along the side of the street. It was a simple looking cube shaped building with a sign on it that said, "Terra's Fortune Telling" written in blue letters on a purple background.

"This is the place." said Tamori. "I'll wait outside for you." Neteru stepped into the small shop and was immediately overwhelmed by a strong odor which seemed to fill the air. Looking for the source of the smell, Neteru noticed the burning incense which were the cause of the smell. Ignoring the smell, Neteru observed his surroundings and noticed all the psychic artifacts all over the place that were put up for sale. The items for sale included rune stones, tarot cards, crystal balls, and even some obviously psionically charged artifacts. Some of it was even glowing with its own power. The small shop was decorated in many sheets like any ordinary stereotype gypsy shop. From behind a doorway blocked from view by a purple sheet, a small figure stepped into the room. To Neteru's surprise, it was the same brown and white hedgehog he had seen in his dream.

"Yes, how may I help you?" asked the hedgehog.

"Are you Terra?" asked Neteru.

"Yes I am." said the hedgehog.

"How is it that you can speak and understand the ham-ham language?" asked Neteru.

"Humans are not the only creatures on this planet who can be born with the gift to understand ham-ham." explained Terra. "In addition to this gift, I was also blessed with psychic powers that enable me to gain information through my abilities. Using my gift, I became a psion and a seer." Neteru just stood there listening to Terra explain her life story. Neteru was a bit anxious since he had never spoken to a hedgehog before. Terra was also staring at Neteru as if she was trying to remember where she had seen Neteru before.

"You're Neteru, aren't you?" said Terra. Neteru was surprised.

"How did you know my name?" asked Neteru.

"I had a vision that told me that I would be meeting a ham-ham sorcerer named Neteru and that he would have an important question for me." explained Terra. "I get so many visions that I often have to write them down a lot. Anyway, come into the back and I will reveal to you what you need to know." Neteru followed Terra into the next room being extra careful not to allow himself to be pierced by Terra's quills.

The next room was a simple dark room which had a small table in the middle. On the table was some lit candles and a crystal ball. Terra sat down in a chair and ushered Neteru to do the same. The two of them sat in two seats facing each other across the table. Terra placed her paw on the glass ball and she began to manifest a psionic power. The glass ball began to glow an orange color and the image of the Ankorbak Pylons appeared within the light.

"You seek the Ankorbak Pylons to help friends in need." said Terra observing into the glass ball. "Is this true?"

"Yes, how do I reach it?" asked Neteru. Terra stepped away from her crystal ball and picked up a chest from off a nearby shelf. She placed the chest on the table and opened it. Neteru leaned over so he could see what was inside the chest. Inside, he saw a rolled up scroll and a paw size blood red stone.

"When I was a young hedgehog, I came across a ham-ham family who were direct descendants of the ham-hams who used to live in Ankorbak." said Terra. "Fearing that there was someone after the chest, they left it in my possession and I haven't seen them since. Inside this chest is a map to the city of Ankorbak. The stone is a key to access the city. Use these items and you will reach your goal." Neteru took the scroll and stone out of the chest and examined them. The map appeared to be made out of some kind of primitive papyrus but it looked new, none the less. The stone was oval shaped and slightly transparent. Neteru actually felt excitement knowing that these two artifacts could lead him to the city.

"But you must be careful." warned Terra. "For there is a powerful psion out to find the city for his own twisted ends."

"A psion?" said Neteru remembering the psion who attacked him and his friends.

"Yes, you must be cautious around the psion." said Terra. "He is after the city of Ankorbak and all of its artifacts. Beware the psion, Neteru."

"So the psion is after Ankorbak." thought Neteru. "I must not let him get to the city."

"Thank you for the warning." said Neteru as he put the map and stone back into the chest. "I best be off and tell the others."

"Remember what I have told you because the psion is watching you." said Terra. Neteru didn't know how to respond to that comment so, without another word to Terra, he left the shop where Tamori waited for him.

"So, how'd it go?" asked Tamori as Neteru stepped out of the shop holding the small chest under his arm.

"I got a lot out of that psion." said Neteru. "The chest that I'm holding holds the key to finding the city of Ankorbak. I must tell the others."

"Then I shall take you to them myself." said Tamori. The two ham-hams walked back to Tamori's castle repeating "Wasa-Wasa" as they walked.

Meanwhile, back at the castle, the ham-hams who had been left at the castle were sitting on the floor swapping stories between each other.

"You should have seen Nin-Ham when he started." said Soshi. "He was so bad at throwing shurikens that the teacher said that he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn." They all giggled, even Nin-Ham laughed at the memory.

"Say Nin-Ham, when we met you, you were a pretty bad ninja." said Hamtaro. "Have you improved since I last saw you?"

"Well, after you guys convinced me to come back, I started practicing harder than ever and I'm finally beginning to show some improvement." said Nin-Ham. "I'm actually capable of at least hitting a target with a shuriken." Just then, Neteru and Tamori stepped into the room and immediately, Neteru was bombarded with questions about his visit with Terra.

"Did you find out how to find Ankorbak?"

"Is it far?"

"Will we be able to get there soon?" Neteru was so overwhelmed by all the questions that he had to call out to quiet them down.

"One at a time, one at a time." said Neteru. "Yes, the seer did provide me with clues on how to find the city of Ankorbak." There was some whispers of excitement. "In this chest holds a map to the city, however, we are going to need some supplies."

"Don't worry, I will provide all you need for the journey." said Tamori. "Infact, since you are going to Ankorbak, you're going to need some help getting through all the traps and security systems of Ankorbak. Jingle, do you intend on traveling to Ankorbak with Neteru?"

"Yes I do." said Jingle.

"Then I must insist that Soshi and Nin-Ham come along." said Tamori. Soshi looked thrilled but Nin-Ham looked like he was about to faint.

"But why us?" asked Nin-Ham.

"Because according to our traditions here in Rokugon, loyalty to family is important." said Tamori. "Since you are Jingle's cousin, it only makes sense that you should come along. Besides, you need to get some training outside of Rokugon."

"Do you think I'm ready?" asked Nin-Ham.

"You've certainly improved after you came back to Rokugon." said Tamori. "I trust you're ready."

"Then I will be brave." said Nin-Ham even though it didn't sound like he believed it himself.

"And what about you, Soshi?" asked Tamori. "Will you be able to accompany your older brother and his friends to Ankorbak?"

"For the honor of our family, I will." said Soshi.

"Excellent, I will arrange every supply you will need and you may ship off when ever you are ready." said Tamori.

"Wow, thanks for all your help." said Hamtaro.

"Why are you helping us like this?" asked Boss.

"I just like to help a ham in need, not to mention that the discovery of Ankorbak would be a beneficial discovery in the world of ham-hams." explained Tamori. The former humans were so excited that they were hoping up and down.

"Alright, I'll get to be more than a foot tall again." said Laura.

"I finally would be able to see my family again." said Kana.

Tamori left, saying that he needed to get something. Once he was gone, Neteru tried to get their attention again.

"Could you all quiet down for a minute." said Neteru. "The seer has also told me something important. She also told me a little something about that psion who has been following us."

"Heke?" said Soshi. "What psion?" Neteru explained to Soshi and Nin-Ham about the psion who has been following them this whole time and about how he tried to murder them.

"And the seer told me that the psion is after the artifacts within Ankorbak." said Neteru. There were some gasps.

"That must be why he is after us." said Mara. "With the artifacts within Ankorbak, even a psion would have unlimited power."

"Exactly, so we must be extra careful about allowing him to Ankorbak." said Neteru. Neteru stopped talking when he heard Tamori come into the room.

"Nin-Ham, I want you to have something." said Tamori. He opened his paw and revealed a very small blue stone that was so small that it would have looked like a grain of sand to a human. "This stone is a good luck charm that I've had with me since I was still a trainee. It helped me out when I was younger and it may help you as well." Tamori gave Nin-Ham the stone.

"Thank you, sir." said Nin-Ham a bit surprised by the sudden gift. Although Nin-Ham never believed in good luck charms, but at this point, he wanted all the luck he could get.

"Now, we should make a list of supplies and get packing for the trip immediately." said Tamori.


	9. Cat Attack

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 9: Cat Attack

As Tamori had promised, he managed to pay for all the supplies and food that the travelers would require for the journey. Packed into the back packs Hamtaro and the others were carrying and some additional ones for Soshi and Nin-Ham, the thirteen travelers picked up their supplies and were ready to start the trip. All the ham-hams who didn't have weapons were given swords which were attached to sheaths on belts. Neteru and Mara weren't given any weapons since their magic was the only weapon they needed. Soshi also got no weapons since she already had her katana and wakizashi. Nin-Ham received a ninja-to, a bag full of shurikens, and two chakrams for his weapons. (A/N: Details on these weapons at the end of this chapter.) While the others packed, Neteru and Mara got to work trying to decipher the map. The map described that they had to reach a river that was not too far from Rokugon. From there, they just had to follow a path on the map. Tamori also helped in that detail and showed them how to get to the river and where they can safely cross the river. The adventurers were ready to go on the next half of their journey.

The following day, they were at Soshi's home preparing for the trip ahead of them. They were at Soshi's house and they were packing up for the trip ahead of them. Hamtaro, Oxnard, and the former humans all were adjusting the belts that were given to them and attached to the belts were sheaths that held their new swords. Hamtaro pulled out his swords and experimentally began swinging it around. Hamtaro never held a real sword before and it made Hamtaro curious as to what it is like to wheeled one. As he swung the sword, he nearly cut Boss.

"Watch it, Hamtaro." said Boss irritated as he jumped to the side.

"Sorry." apologized Hamtaro as he placed the weapon back into its sheath. Boss had also got a belt and a sword but he also got a strap so he could place his ax on his belt. Nin-Ham had the most weapons with him. He wore his all black ninja outfit and on his belt was the ninja-to that he possessed. The ninja-to was attached to his left hip but his two chakrams were strapped onto his right hip. The bag that contained the shurikens was located in the front like a fanny pack. Soshi was on her knees and she held out both her katana and wakizashi in both paws. She was praying to her weapons which was a way for samurai to call on the power of those weapons.

As they all were preparing their pack packs and gear, Tamori came into Soshi's home through the front door and said, "Hamha, everyone."

"Hamha, Tamori." greeted Soshi. "What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to stop by and see if you guys were ready for the trip." said Tamori. "I've even arranged for some transportation out of the city."

"Transportation?" said Soshi. "Where?"

"Right out here." said Tamori. He stepped aside from the open front door to reveal a large vehicle out on the street.

"Heke? You rented us a bus?" asked Soshi. Indeed, the vehicle was a hamster sized bus which resembled a human bus but it looked more like a metal childs' toy.

"Yep, it's electrical and everything." said Tamori. "Why don't you guys load up your belongings on it and get ready for the trip out of town."

"Wow, I never seen a hamster sized bus before." said Hamtaro as he noticed the bus outside.

"Well don't just stand there, start loading it up." said Tamori. Hamtaro and the others started loading up the bus with the luggage, tucking them safely in the compartments under the passenger seats.

Once everything was packed up into the bus, the door to the bus opened to allow everyone on. The driver of the bus bore a striking resemblance to Neteru except he was fat like Oxnard and he wore a blue bus driver's hat.

"Hey Max, you ready for the trip?" asked Tamori to the bus driver as he got on.

"No problem." said Max. One by one, they all boarded the bus taking a seat amongst the rows upon rows of blue passenger seats. Once everyone was seated, Max said to the passengers, "Hold on to your belongings because we're leaving now." Max pushed the accelerator with his foot and the bus moved forward making a buzzing sound like a toy car.

The ham-hams were amazed at all the sights that the bus past along the trip. Rokugon was indeed a beautiful place with everything to simple farming lands to large cities with ham-ham sized sky scrapers. It was clearly a place rich in culture. It was unbelievable that so much could exist in just one ham-ham city. Except, of-course, for Soshi, Nin-Ham, Max, and Tamori, everyone was looking out the windows admiring the sights of Rokugon. While in the bus, a thought occurred to Boss.

"Hey Jingle, why isn't Herbert coming with us?" asked Boss to Jingle who was sitting right next to him.

"The path that we are going is to hard and rocky so I decided to leave Herbert in Rokugon and I'll pick him up on my way back." explained Jingle. "I'm sure Tamori's servants won't mind watching over Herbert until then."

After about an hour of driving, the bus finally exited through the wall that surrounds Rokugon and into the woods. After about three yards of driving, the bus stopped in the trees.

"Okay, this as far as I'm allowed to go so everybody off." said Max. They all departed the bus and removed their luggage from the side compartments. Once their back packs were strapped on, Tamori and Max boarded the bus. While hanging out the door of the bus, Tamori said, "This is where I leave you guys." said Tamori. "Good luck on your mission."

"Bye-Q, Tamori." said Hamtaro waving back. "Thanks for all your help." Tamori stepped right back into the bus and Max steered the bus back into Rokugon. As Hamtaro watched the bus drive away, Neteru said, "We best get moving, we got a long way to go." The thirteen adventurers walked into the forest repeating "Badda-Badda" as they walked.

The second leg of their journey was starting out uneventfully. At around sun down, they finally found the river they are looking for. Neteru and the others had stepped out of the bush and there it was, a river that was about two meters long and two feet deep.

"Look, we finally found the river." said Oxnard. "Is it the same one on the map?" Neteru pulled out the rolled up map from his back pack and opened it up to check the river. On the map, it indicated that there are some stepping stones that should serve as a bridge to cross the river with. When Neteru studied the river, he immediately noticed a trail of large rocks leading across the river. The rocks were large and not too far apart so they could easily jump from rock to rock.

"I think this is the river." said Neteru. "All we have to do is cross the river using those rocks."

"Cross the rocks?" said Oxnard. "Doesn't that sound dangerous."

"Oh no, we just have to jump across the rocks." said Neteru. "All it takes is as much agility as a..."

"CAT!" screamed Nin-Ham interrupting Neteru.

"Yes, like a cat." said Neteru.

"No, I mean there is a cat right there behind us." said Nin-Ham. Everyone turned around and noticed a white cat with large patches of orange fur. The cat's piercing yellow eyes glared at the adventurers before him and he looked hungry.

"Head towards the river." ordered Neteru. They all ran towards the river repeating "Badda-Badda" as they ran but before they could get far, another cat jumped into their way. This cat was dark gray with specks of white. Before Neteru could make another order, three other cats came out of hiding. One cat was all white, the other was beige, and the final cat was white with brown spots. The cats circled the ham-hams staring hungrily at them. The former humans, Oxnard, and Nin-Ham were frightened out of their whit's but they managed to pull out their swords and hold them up weakly. The rest were also a bit shaken by the sight of all these cats.

"Where did all these cats come from?" asked Hamtaro.

"I admit, this is very suspicious." said Neteru. "Our best chance is to head for the river." Neteru held up his staff and shouted out, "Recta barrock." From the jewel from his magic staff, five beams of energy shot from his staff and knocked the cats off their feet.

"Move!" shouted out Neteru. Everyone ran towards the rocks but the cats were not as stunned as Neteru had hoped and already, the cats were chasing them. The closest cat was the gray one with the white spots. He was already prepared to stop the ham-hams from reaching the river.

"Tok a bora." said Mara and a telekinetic thrust threw the gray cat into the river and the cat was swept away by the current.

That was just one cat but the others were gaining fast on Neteru and the others. The white cat jumped up and pounced on Oxnard.

"Help!" screamed Oxnard as he felt the cat's claws dig into his back.

"Oxnard!" screamed Kana as she noticed her beloved pet in danger. Nin-Ham reacted fast by throwing a chakram at the cat. The chakram cut into the cat's left eye, completely blinding him in that eye. The cat jumped back, completely surprised by the attack and the other cats were startled too. Nin-Ham stared, amazed that he had actually hit the cat in the eye because he had such poor aim. As he gawked, Soshi ran towards the cat, katana and wakizashi drawn. Strangely enough, the two weapons actually glowed a red color and when Soshi cut into the cat's leg with her katana, the paw was nearly gone. The cat screamed in pain as it jumped back and let go of Oxnard. Oxnard scrambled to his feet and began to run towards the others. Neteru shouted out, "Flay oh" and the spell conjured a fire ball from his magic staff. The fire ball hit the cat right in the face and immediately the cat was engulfed in flames. While the cat was on fire, Nin-Ham ran over to his chakram which lay on the ground. He picked it up and placed it back on his belt.

The beige cat went for our heroes causing everyone to split up. The cat began to chase Laura gaining on her fast.

"Aaaahhh, help!" shouted Laura as the cat began to gain on her. Boss, Oxnard, Hamtaro, and all the former humans chased after the cat in an attempt to save their friend. Meanwhile, Soshi, Nin-Ham, Neteru, Mara, and Jingle battled the other three cats. Even though the white cat was still engulfed in flames, he still persisted in trying to capture the ham-hams.

"This should stop them." said Jingle. He began to play is guitar and sang, "Viola ma deyo..." but the spell was not affecting the cats. The flaming cat jumped for Jingle, despite the fact that half of its front paw was almost cut off, and nearly clawing Jingle as he landed. Jingle jumped back, startled by the attack. Thinking fast, Soshi ran under the cat holding up both her glowing katana and wakizashi into the air. The glowing weapons sliced the under belly of the white cat causing the cat's intestines to spill out. Soshi was slightly singed by the fire but she was okay. The flaming white cat meowed in pain and fell over dead, succumbing to its injuries and the flames that burned it alive.

Meanwhile, Laura was just moments away from being cat chow as she continued to be chased up the river but Boss and the others were just about to catch up to the cat. Boss leaped into the air and landed onto the cat's back. Without hesitating, Boss drove the ax down the cat's neck. The beige cat meowed in pain as she began to shake its body in an attempt to throw Boss off her back. Laura stopped running watching the cat try and shake off Boss. Without warning, the cat lunged for Laura, jaws opened wide and ready for the kill. Laura was taken so off guard by the cat that Laura just stood there afraid. Suddenly, Hamtaro jumped out and grabbed Laura, shoving her out of the way as the cat bit down onto the soil. Boss took his ax and drove it deep into the bone in the cat's neck and severing the spine. Immediately, the cat toppled over as it lost sensation beneath the neck. Boss leaped off of the cat's back and with his sword, he severed some important veins in the cat's neck causing a fountain of blood to poor out onto the dirt.

"Lets get out of here." said Boss. They all ran off as the cat was left there to bleed to death.

"Tota mala." said Neteru as he fired a beam of red energy from his magic staff. The beams struck the two remaining cats in the face knocking them off their feet and into the air. At that moment, Hamtaro, Boss, Oxnard, and the former humans arrived.

"Everyone, get across the river." ordered Neteru. The ham-hams all raced across the river using the rocks that was the only bridge across. The orange and white cat was already heading towards Neteru until he said "Flay oh" and another fire ball came out of his paw. The fire ball set the cat on fire but amazingly, the cat still persuade Neteru. By then, everyone had managed to cross the river except for Neteru and both the flaming orange/white cat and brown spotted cat was after him. Neteru immediately crossed the stones repeating "Badda-Badda" as he ran but the cats were still following.

"Come on, Neteru." shouted Hamtaro. All the others were shouting out to Neteru as well. The cats tried to follow Neteru as he hopped from stone to stone but the stones were wet and slippery. Before any of the cats could reach Neteru, both cats fell into the water screaming a loud "Meow" as they fell and were swept away in the current.

All of them began cheering as Neteru finally made it across the river.

"You did it, Neteru." said Hamtaro.

"Yeah, you showed that cat who's boss." said Boss.

"Thanks for all the cheers but I think we should continue on our journey." said Neteru. The thirteen adventurers continued walking repeating "Wasa-Wasa" as they walked. Neteru came up to Mara and said, "Have you noticed something odd about that attack today?"

"No, why do you ask?" asked Mara.

"There are a few things wrong about that situation." said Neteru. "One, those cats attacked us all at once. Cats are solitary predators and they are territorial so how did we come across five cats at once? Two, those cats tried to get us even when we severally injured them. Normally a cat would have fled after an injury like that. And three, they were immune to Jingle's charm spell. Some cats would have been able to have the will power to resist such a spell but that is rare so what are the odds that all five of those cats could be that rare few who could resist a bard as powerful as Jingle."

"What are you suggesting?" asked Mara.

"I think that someone had enchanted those cats' minds and forced them to fight us." said Neteru.

"But what kind of sorcerer would do that?" asked Mara.

"It couldn't have been magic." said Neteru. "If the cats were under a spell, Jingle's spell would have to interfere with the spell on the cats and there would have been signs of that but the cats instead shrug off the spell easily. The only way that could happen is that it wasn't magic that was controlling those cats' minds." Mara thought about what Neteru said and realized what he meant.

"You don't think it was the psion, do you?" said Mara.

"I'm sure of it." said Neteru.

And speak of the devil, across the river was the brown spotted psion who has been attacking them all this time. The psion was infuriated that the cats he had captured and controlled through his psionics had failed. The psion stayed in hiding as he watched the adventurers travel deeper into the forest. The psion had to stop them and he knew just how to do it. He followed the adventurers, this time with another plan.

_Author's Note: A ninja-to, as the name suggests, is a weapon used by ninjas. It is a multipurpose short sword and some ninja-tos can double either as a blowgun, club, or a ladder rung. Shurikens are small star shaped weapons that can be thrown at their targets. A chakram is a large ring with a diameter of one foot (or one inch in hamster size). It can be thrown like a Frisbee and the sharp edges of the weapon can cut its target._


	10. The Attack on the Mountain

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 10: The Attack on the Mountain

Night was falling and the stars were beginning to show in the dark sky. The only light they had were the three glowing spheres that Jingle had conjured and the stones on Mara's and Neteru's staffs were glowing as well.

"We better stop for the night." suggested Neteru.

"Oh, no arguments here." whined Oxnard. "My feet are killing me."

"Mine too." said Kana.

"I'm so tired, I could sleep right here." said Hamtaro.

"Very well then, we shall camp here." said Neteru. Everyone pulled out a blanket from their back packs and laid them out onto the ground. Soshi took off her armor but she kept her belt on with her katana and wakizashi still in their sheaths. As Boss watched Soshi lie down on her blanket and get comfortable, a thought occurred to him.

"Hey Soshi, how did your swords glow like that?" asked Boss.

"What do you mean?" asked Soshi.

"You know, those swords were glowing when we were fighting those cats." said Boss. "And they did some incredible damage back there."

"Well, that is the power of a samurai's katana and wakizashi." said Soshi as she pulled out the two swords. "Like all samurai, my katana and wakizashi was past down from ancestor to ancestor. The spirit of my ancestors exist within these two weapons and during combat, I can summon their power to enhance my own power."

"So you were basically drawing strength from those weapons?" said Hamtaro eavesdropping. Infact, everyone had been listening.

"Yes, this power is called daisho and the more advanced a samurai is, the more power he/she can draw from his ancestors." said Soshi. "I possess the ancestral katanas and wakizashis from both sides of my family and when I have children of my own, they will inherit those weapons."

"Wow, so all those weapons are heirlooms to your family and by drawing from your ancestors, you can be more dangerous with those weapons." said Travis.

"Exactly." said Soshi. "But in order to use daisho, we must follow the Code of Bushido and protect our weapons. The loss of either a katana or a wakizashi is considered the ultimate dishonor for a samurai."

"Wow, that sounds harsh." said Boss.

"It is but it's worth it." said Soshi. The others were too tired to push the subject so instead, the lights were put out and they all fell asleep.

Days had gone by since they left Rokugon and by following the directions on the map, they were getting closer and closer to their intended destination. One evening, they found themselves at the foot of a large rocky mountain. Neteru held out the map and examined it.

"This is the mountain we're supposed to climb." said Neteru.

"We're going to climb that?" said Oxnard staring up at the mountain. "Can't we stop for a break?"

"We just had dinner." said Neteru. "Besides, we still have an hour or two of sun light and we better get as far as we can up the mountain before it gets too dark to see." The sun light was getting dimmer and the setting sun was causing the sky to turn orange. It was obvious that the light is only going to get darker very quickly so Neteru insisted they press onward. But before Neteru could climb up the mountain, a ham-ham came out from a small space in the rock. The ham-ham had long messy brown fur all over his body and he was about Cappy's height.

"Hamha, what brings you to my mountains?" said the ham-ham.

"Oh, uh, we need to climb up these mountains." said Neteru a bit surprised about this ham-hams sudden arrival.

"I can help you find the easiest way to the top, just follow me." said the ham-ham. The furry ham-ham walked up the trail along side the mountain repeating "Ticky-Ticky" as he walked. Along the way, he turned around and noticed that the others were not following him.

"Heke?" said the ham-ham. "Why aren't you guys following me?"

"Oh, we're coming." said Neteru. He and the others walked up the trail following the little furry ham-ham repeating "Ticky-Ticky" as they walked. Along the way, Neteru couldn't help but feel uneasy about this ham-ham. There was just something about him that seemed suspicious.

The little furry hamster enthusiastically led them up the trail skipping merrily up the rocky slope repeating "Chick-ah Chick-ah" as he walked. He was moving so fast that he was moving ahead of the others.

"Come on, slow pokes." said the ham-ham.

"Slow down, I'm already too tired to keep up." complained Oxnard but the little ham-ham still went on ahead of them.

"Why is he trying to loose us like this?" said Neteru to no one in particular. The little furry ham-ham skipped all the way to large rock and just sat there.

"What's that sound?" asked Hamtaro. Everyone stopped and listened as they realized they were listening to a faint humming sound. As Neteru thought about it, he recognized the sound as an mental display from a psionic power. As he looked up, he saw several rocks beginning to move overhead and he realized that someone was moving the rocks with telekinesis. Before Neteru warn the others, the rocks tumbled from the side of the mountain and heading strait for Neteru and the others.

"_Kay bau soo_." shouted Neteru and he and the others were surrounded by some kind of green force field just as the rocks tumbled onto them. Rocks and debris fell onto our heroes burying them alive under several pounds of dirt and rock.

The little ham-ham, whom the others thought they could trust, was actually the psion who had transformed his shape to fool them. As the psion watched the last bit of rock fall on the pile that buried Neteru and the others alive, the psion changed back into his regular form revealing is quarterstaff and the green gem which was still around his. The psion couldn't believe that his plan had worked until he heard Neteru shout out, "_Vaw bary goosh_." Without warning, the pile of rock fired in all directions. The psion quickly used his powers to ward off the rocks that flew in his direction. With the help of his magic, Neteru managed to repel the rocks off of him and the others and freeing themselves. With a look of shock and anger, the psion glared at Neteru and the others.

"Hand over the map and I shall spare your lives." said the psion.

"_Hekanack_." said Neteru and a beam of green energy shot forth from his magic staff. The psion immediately teleported away from the beam causing the beam to strike the rock that was behind him and shattering it into pieces.

"Come on, Mara, we're going after him." said Neteru.

"_Bowa da_." chorused Mara and Neteru and suddenly, their feet glowed an orange color and their outer edges seemed blurred and fuzzy.

"You guys stay here and we will be right back." said Neteru before he and Mara leaped into the air and began to chase after the psion

Mara and Neteru leaped from ledge to ledge like grass hoppers. Thanks to the spell they were under, they were capable of leaping at great distances enabling them to move farther and farther up the mountain.

"Where could he be?" asked Mara out loud.

"He might be trying to set up an ambush." suggested Neteru. And speaking of the psion, he was now hiding on a ledge, watching Neteru and Mara come closer to him. The psion knew that Mara and Neteru would find him eventually so the psion had to act fast. As Mara leaped into the air, the psion manifested a quick telekinetic thrust to push Mara over the edge.

"Aaahh!" screamed Mara as she fell. Mara nearly plummeted to her death but luckily, Neteru used his own telekinetic powers to move Mara back onto the rock safely.

"Thanks, Neteru." said Mara. "That was a close one."

"That psion must be somewhere nearby." said Neteru. For awhile, no one moved. Neteru and Mara tried to spot the psion amongst the rocks but the psion still remained on the ledge he was hiding on and the dim light from the setting sun didn't help either. The psion knew he couldn't just wait there any longer so he decided to make his move. He quickly manifested two psionic powers. The first was a psionic power that made him invisible. The other enabled him to actually have sticky feet and paws enabling him to climb the rocky surface like a spider. He crawled down the rocky mountain edging carefully towards Neteru and Mara. But what the psion didn't realize was that Neteru had cast a spell on himself that enhanced his hearing. Neteru could actually hear the psion as he got closer and closer to Mara and Neteru. Once the psion was close enough to use his psionics, Neteru shouted out, "_Rectomb dobra_." A green lightening bolt was shot from Neteru's staff and although it missed the psion, it still blasted him right off of the rock causing the psion to plummet to the ground below. Neteru and Mara watched the psion fall but since the psion was still invisible, there was nothing to see.

"Is he dead?" asked Mara.

"I don't know." said Neteru. "I wouldn't be so sure about it though. Lets get down to the others." Neteru and Mara used their powers to leap down from the side of the cliff and reach the others who seemed anxious to know how the fight went. They were all asking questions at once to the point that it was all barely understandable. After quieting down the talkative group, they told everyone what had happened.

"Wow, did you destroy that psion?" asked Hamtaro.

"I can't say for sure since he might have used his powers to some how survive that fall." said Neteru. "To be on the safe side, we must be on our guard."

"You know, the sun is going down, we may want to camp here for the night." said Boss. Neteru looked at the setting sun in the distance and realized that its light was almost gone and the stars were becoming visible.

"I suppose you're right." said Neteru. "We shall camp here and continue our search in the morning." They all got on to their makeshift sleeping mats and they all fell asleep for the night.

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, they continued their climb up the mountain until the map led them to what looked like a hamster size door made entirely out of stone.

"Is this where we're supposed to go?" asked Hamtaro. Neteru held out the map in front of him.

"Yes, according to the map, this is where we have to go." said Neteru.

"But how do we open it?" asked Boss. "There's no door knob so how can it be opened?"

"Perhaps you need a password." suggested Jingle. "Is there a password on that map?"

"No." said Neteru. Neteru set the map aside and then examined the door. As he did, he noticed a round hole in it and Neteru suddenly remembered the red stone that Terra had given him. From his back pack, he pulled out the stone and placed it into the hole. The stone suddenly glowed red like a light bulb placed into an activated light bulb socket. Suddenly, the door slid inwards and then slid into the wall revealing a long dark tunnel.

"_Luma_." said Neteru and Mara and the gems on both their staffs lit up.

"Come on, we're going in." said Neteru. They all walked into the darkness following Neteru and Mara's glowing staffs, unaware of what may be down there in the darkness of the tunnel...


	11. The Two Challenges of Ankorbak

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 11: The Two Challenges of Ankorbak

The cave was pitch black thus requiring Jingle to conjure some glowing spheres just to enable them to see. The three glowing spheres conjured by Jingle spread out along the line of adventurers helping them all to see in the dark but it wasn't bright enough so Mara and Neteru had to light up their staffs to provide enough light. The cave didn't seem at all spectacular to look at. The cave did appear to be man-made (or hamster-made in this case) but it wasn't really smooth or fancy. There was no other indication that it belonged to any civilization. As they got farther into the tunnels, they realized that the tunnel was growing smaller and smaller. It was beginning to get so small that Oxnard was having troubles squeezing his dumpy body through the tunnel.

"Is it my imagination or are we getting bigger or the tunnel is getting smaller." said Oxnard.

"Yeah, this is starting to get uncomfortable." said Boss who was having even more troubles walking through the cramped tunnel than Oxnard. Boss actually had to lower his head just so he could walk through, the roof of the tunnel scraping his helmet.

"Wait, I see a door in front of us." said Neteru who was in the front of the line. In the light of his magic staff, Neteru could make out the details of a wooden door with a simple bronze handle. Neteru turned the door knob of the door and pushed the door forward revealing the room behind it.

Upon entering the room, Neteru was surprised to see a large rectangle shaped room that had a ceiling about two feet from the floor but unlike the cave, this room had smooth walls and ceiling. Along the walls were lanterns who provided light but how the lanterns remained lit was not apparently obvious. In front of them, along the floor, was a tile floor decorated in black and white squares. What is strange that the tile pattern is only decorating the center portion of the room leaving the rest of the floor to be made out of solid stone.

As Neteru stared in awe at the tiles, everyone began to squeeze out of the small door starting with Mara, Hamtaro, Nin-Ham, Jingle, and Soshi. Oxnard, who was right behind Soshi, got himself stuck in the door.

"Ugh, I can't move." said Oxnard. Boss realized that Oxnard must be stuck so he gave Oxnard a good shove through the door forcing Oxnard out with a small pop.

"Are you all right, Oxnard?" asked Mara.

"Yeah, I just wish I hadn't eaten so much this morning." said Oxnard. Just then, Boss tried to squeeze through the door but he was larger than Oxnard so Boss ended up stuck as well.

"Hey, a little help here." said Boss. The former humans were right behind Boss with Laura in front.

"Uh oh, Boss is stuck." said Laura. "Everyone, help me push." Travis, Kana, June, and Kylie placed both paws against the back of the person in front of them and they all applied their strength and weight against Boss and with a loud pop, Boss and the others tumbled out of the door.

"Are you guys all right?" asked Neteru.

"Yeah, we just had a nasty spill, that's all." said Laura.

"Why was that door so small, anyway?" asked Boss.

"Perhaps they were shorter back then." suggested Neteru. "Or maybe it is just a security precaution." They all managed to straiten themselves so they could get a good look at the room they were in.

"What's with the floor?" asked Boss. "Did they forget to finish putting in the tiles, or something?"

"I doubt it." said Neteru. " I suspect this is deliberate." They all got closer to the tiles to examine them.

"Lets just walk across." suggested Hamtaro. "There doesn't appear to be anything dangerous about them."

"But no one sets up a trap if it looks like a trap." said Neteru. "It is rumored that the ancient ham-hams that lived in Ankorbak had built traps to keep intruders out and this could be it. Perhaps the map might provide us with a hint." Neteru pulled out the map and sure enough, right on the map was the same square pattern and next to it, was a message that Neteru read out loud to the others:

_If thou wishes to cross the floor of black and white,_

_thou must cross the floor like a knight._

"Cross it like a knight?" said Hamtaro. "What does that mean."

"I think we need to cross the tiles the same way a knight would." said Neteru.

"But how do knights walk?" asked Boss.

"Maybe like this." suggested Travis and to demonstrate what he meant, he walked in place while holding up one paw as if he was holding up horse reins.

"They only walk like that in 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail." said June sarcastically. Travis blushed a bit.

"Well, we could give it a try." said Boss about to walk onto the tiles.

"No wait." said Neteru grabbing Boss's arm.

"If this is a trap, that means that if we get it wrong, we could die." said Neteru.

"But how are we going to figure out how to get across?" asked Hamtaro.

"Can you use your magic to get across?" asked Laura.

"I wouldn't risk it." said Neteru. "Odds are, the ones who made this trap must have some kind of security to prevent cheating. I think this is a riddle and if we put our heads together, we should be able to find a way across."

They all stood there looking at the black and white tiles. Neteru observed the pattern of squares and suddenly, an idea came to him.

"Wait a minute, this square of tiles are not only black and white but it has exactly eight tiles on each side starting with a white tile on the far right corner." said Neteru. The others looked at the tiles and confirmed that the tiled floor was indeed "8 tiles X 8 tiles" and the tile on the far right on their end of the tiled floor was white.

"So, what are you getting at?" asked Boss.

"I get it." said Mara. "It looks like a giant chess board."

"Exactly." said Neteru. "I don't think the riddle meant a knight in shining armor, it meant a knight from a chess game which means that we have to cross this board like a knight piece would."

"I think you may have a point but what if you're wrong?" asked Mara.

"There's only one way to find out." said Neteru and before anyone can say a word, he stepped onto a square in the first row. Nothing happened. Neteru knew that a knight is capable of moving in an "L" shape which is created by moving two spaces vertically or horizontally and then moving one space to either the left or right side of the line created. Taking another breath, he stepped over to the next spot a knight could move and...nothing happened. Feeling more confident, Neteru walked across the tiled floor with ease and nothing happened to him as he walked all the way to the other end of the board.

"It's okay, just walk in the same way I did." said Neteru. One by one, they all carefully walked across the board until they all managed to reach the other side of the tiles. Once they managed to get to the other side of the room, they found a wooden door. Neteru turned the knob to the door and the adventurers all stepped inside the next room and towards their next challenge...

Neteru was surprised to see that the next room contained what looked like a glass grid hovering over a deep and dark fissure. Like the previous room, this too was lit by lanterns who were lit by a continuous flame but it didn't provide enough illumination to enable them to see down into the bottom of the fissure. The glass grid had white lines across it and it was rectangle in shape.

"What is that grid supposed to be?" asked Oxnard.

"Well, we are not going to find out by standing here." said Neteru. "Lets get a closer look." They all walked towards the grid and suddenly, glowing numbers appeared on their chests. How the numbers appeared was not clear but right on their chests were numbers. Some of them had red numbers while others had blue numbers. Once the numbers had appeared, four triangle shaped buttons appeared out of the ground and suddenly, little symbols decorated the grid. The symbols included arrows, arrows with picture of an "E", "O", or red or blue dot, and symbols that looked like a swirling vortex.

"What is this all about?" asked Boss examining the blue glowing number one on his chest. Neteru pulled out the map and saw a picture of the grid on the map. Next to the picture of the grid was a clue which Neteru read out loud:

_Step on a button and out comes a disk_

_That will fly you across the grid at your own risk._

_The arrows point where you go unless you don't fit the picture_

_But be careful or else be sucked into the vortex like fixture._

"_E" stands for "Even" and "O" stands for "Odd."_

_Use your skill or trust your god._

"I hate riddles." said Boss.

"But what does all this mean?" asked Mara.

"It said that if we step on a button, a disk will come out." said Neteru. Experimentally, he stepped onto a button and sure enough, a large yellow disk came out of the cliff and hovered just right in front of Neteru.

"I think I see what this is all about." said Neteru. "If I stand on that disk, it will fly me across the grid."

"But it can't be that easy." pointed out Soshi.

"Yeah, there must be a catch." said Nin-Ham. Neteru looked at the hovering disk before him and wondered if the disk will fly across the squares like a track. As he followed his eyes across the track, he realized that he would reach an arrow that directed him towards the left. It occurred to Neteru that if he hit that arrow, that must mean that the disk will change direction to where the arrow is pointing so Neteru followed his eyes towards that direction and realized that he would hit another arrow. But then he noticed that the arrow had a red spot on it. Neteru remembered a line from the poem, "The arrows point where you go unless you don't fit the picture" which must mean that if the number on Neteru's chest was red like the spot on the arrow, then Neteru would fly in the direction of the arrow. But the number on Neteru's chest was a blue five which means he would go past the arrow and hit a space with a vortex picture which was obviously a trap.

"I get it now." said Neteru. "We must select which one of these disks will enable us to get across and it varies depending on the numbers on our chests and the color of those numbers. Each disk follows a different path and those arrows direct where we are going but some arrows require you to have a certain number or color in order to cross." Neteru then explained how if he had gone on the path he was on, he would have been sucked into one of those vortexes. "Since I can't go down this path safely, I must choose another." said Neteru.

Neteru stepped off of the triangle button and the disk vanished. Neteru then stepped onto the next button and another disk came out. Neteru followed his eyes along the path the disk would follow and noticed that it would hit an arrow with an "O" on it meaning that Neteru required an odd number on his chest in order to move in the direction the arrow was pointing or else go on past it. But Neteru had an odd number which meant that the disk will veer him out of harm's way. As he followed his eyes along the path of the arrow, he realized that he would hit an arrow with no symbol causing Neteru to move towards the cliff's edge. Bu along the way, he would hit an arrow that had a red spot on it and if the arrow directed him towards away from the cliff, he would be led towards a vortex trap. But the number on Neteru's chest was blue which meant that he would go past the arrow.

"Now if I'm right, this path right here will enable me to cross safely." said Neteru. While taking a deep breath, Neteru stepped onto the disk and he felt his feet glue to the disk as he slowly flew over the glass grid. Once the disk reached the space with the first arrow, it directed him towards the left and when he hit the next arrow, he was moved towards the cliff and heading towards the arrow with the red spot. Neteru nervously watched as he approached the arrow and to his relief, he went by the arrow because his number was not red like the spot on the arrow. The disk finally reached the cliff's edge and the disk disappeared causing Neteru to land on the cliff.

"It worked, come on everybody." said Neteru. One by one, the others flew across the grid being careful to choose the path that would safely ride them across the board. Once everyone was across, the symbols on the grid vanished and so did the numbers on our heroes' chests. Now that they were across, Neteru opened a large wooden door to the next room.

As they entered through the door, they came down another dark tunnel. They all walked wordlessly down the dark tunnel single file while heading towards a light at the end of the tunnel. As they came out of the tunnel, they all gasped with astonishment at what they saw. They all were standing on a stone balcony that was high enough to enable them all a good view of the city of Ankorbak. Although Ankorbak was nothing but a ghost town, Ankorbak still was breathtaking as if its beauty had not faded, even after thousands of years in desolation. The entire city seemed to stretch for what seemed like half a mile or more in diameter. The city was absolutely glorious with its rows upon rows of buildings who all appeared to be carved out of white stone. Empty streets divided the buildings giving the city the appearance that it was made out of several pieces glued together. Yet the city had its own style whose shapes of buildings and physical design was mathematically put together in an artistic fashion as if the entire city was designed to be a work of art. There was a slight glow within the city as if even though its inhabitants were long gone, the city itself still had a life of its own. On the ceiling, the adventurers realized that the ceiling reflected a large moving picture of a cloudy blue sky and a sun as if the ceiling was just one large TV screen giving the citizens of Ankorbak a sky to look at.

"Fascinating." said Neteru in awe. "They've managed to find a way to use magic to create a replica of the sky. No magic user has ever accomplished a feat to this magnitude before."

"Now that we're in Ankorbak, what are we going to do?" asked Laura.

"We must look for the Ankorbak Pylons." said Neteru. "That is the artifact that we have traveled to find." There were some stairs attached to the balcony so the adventurers walked down the stairs towards the city below.

As they entered the city, they were now more capable of seeing the real splendor of the city. Although the city was mainly white, the city had some small painted patterns all over giving it an artistic feel to it and giving it cultural significance. The buildings had glass windows that enabled Neteru and the others the ability to see into the buildings and seeing all the items that were inside, such as furniture. But amongst the beautiful buildings and the remains of all the antiques, there was a morbid sight amongst the beauty of the Ankorbak. The streets were littered with old hamster skeletons. Everywhere the eye could see, they could see hamster skeletons littering the ground. Some were in positions that indicated that they had died while going about their daily business. At what looked like a restaurant, there were several skeletons sitting at tables decorated with plates that contained mummified half-eaten food. Skeletons littered the stores indicating that they were all shopping when they died. Everyone was disturbed by the sight off all the death.

"What could have killed all these ham-hams?" asked Soshi.

"I don't know but whatever it was, it must be why they all died all at once." said Neteru.

"So how are we going to find the pylons?" asked Laura in an attempt to change the subject.

"I honestly don't know for sure where those pylons are so we will have to search for it." said Neteru.

"Not until I find it first." said voice somewhere behind Neteru and the others. They all turned around in surprise and they noticed six hamsters coming out of nowhere. They were all white and identical and they wore matching purple robes. But the one who was in front of the six white ham-hams was the one who spoke. They all gasped as they recognized the ham-ham they were looking at...

_Author's Note: The second challenge was inspired by the "Bubblewonder Abyss" level from the computer game entitled "The Logical Journey of the Zoombinis."_


	12. The Traitor

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 12: The Traitor

"Tamori!" chorused the ham-hams. The ham-ham before them was indeed, Tamori, the samurai daimyo who led Neteru to Terra and supplied them for the journey. However, Tamori was always so cheerful and friendly looking but this time, a nasty looking glare was in his eyes and an evil grin was on his face. But what was the most strange about Tamori's appearance (to Nin-Ham and Soshi at least) was that he did not have his katana and wakizashi with him and instead, he held a double-bladed sword in his paws.

"Tamori, how did you get here?" asked Soshi.

"And more importantly, why are you here?" asked Neteru.

"I've searched for Ankorbak all my life." said Tamori. "But I never knew how to find it or that Terra had a map to Ankorbak. Now that I've finally found Ankorbak, every artifact in this city is now under my control. I will have access to the greatest magical and psionic secrets ever known to ham-ham kind."

"Atata." chorused the ham-hams except Tamori and his servants.

"But that is treason against the empire of Rokugon and treason against the Code of Bushido which all samurai must obey." said Soshi, her temper rising.

"Hahahaha." laughed Tamori evilly. "The empire is absolutely pathetic with its tradition and culture. Code of Bushido. A code embraced by a fool. No, I will seek a new destiny for myself and for the rest of the world."

"How could you?" said Soshi in outrage. "The Code of Bushido is not a crack pot list of rules. It defines our loyalty to what is right and to our friends and family. It is..."

"Nothing more than a tool to prevent others from becoming too powerful for those in charge to handle." interrupted Tamori.

"That's not true." said Soshi practically shouting out her words.

"And besides, unless you have any psionic or magical training, you can't operate any of the artifacts here in Ankorbak." pointed out Neteru.

"And who said I didn't." said Tamori. Suddenly, there was a strange buzzing sound followed by a strong telekinetic force that caused Neteru and the others to become magnetized to each other. They were all held together in a huddle and incapable of moving.

As everyone tried to struggle against the telekinetic force, the truth finally dawned on Neteru.

"You're a psion?" said Neteru in surprise.

"Yes." said Tamori. "When I was just a little ham kid, I was introduced to the samurai arts but I never liked it. Right when I was a baby, I discovered that I possessed psychic powers which gave me the idea to nourish that gift by secretly training in the psionic arts so I could use it to take the artifacts in Ankorbak for myself. When I was an adult, I practiced, in secret, the ways of the psion. I improved on my power but I also continued my samurai training so I could earn the respect of everyone and enable me more access to the local government since only samurai were aloud in government. No one knew that I have been secretly plotting to find Ankorbak and use its artifacts for my own ends. But I never managed to find the city until you came along. Realizing that this could be the chance I've been waiting to finally get to Ankorbak, I offered to help and I played friendly with you guys so you wouldn't suspect a thing."

"But how did you get here?" asked Neteru.

"I teleported." said Tamori.

"But that is impossible." said Neteru.

"Foolish sorcerer." said Tamori. "Teleportation through magic is limited to places that the sorcerer is familiar with but with psionics, it is possible to bend those limitations under special circumstances. Let me show you." Tamori lifted a small object out of Nin-Ham's pocket using his telekinesis. The stone flew through the air and into Tamori's paw. The object was the small blue stone that Tamori had given Nin-Ham.

"That so-called good luck charm that I gave Nin-Ham is not a good luck charm but what is known as a tracking stone." explained Tamori. "Infused with my own power, I am capable of constantly knowing where it is thus enabling me to track down Nin-Ham where ever he was. When I sensed he was in Ankorbak, I used my psionic powers to create a psionic power that would transport myself and my servants." Tamori pointed to the white ham-hams beside him to indicate who he was talking about. "Using the stone's location as a guide, I directed the teleportation here."

"You will never get away with this." said Neteru.

"But I will." said Tamori. "My servants here are loyal to me and they are both skillful sorcerers."

"_Va_..." began Neteru but before he could finish the incantation, Tamori conjured a plastic like substance around Neteru's mouth, silencing him. Neteru immediately recognized the substance as ectoplasm. Suddenly, more of those ectoplasmic gags covered the mouth of Mara and Jingle. Now that their mouths were covered and their arms are bounded by the psionics that holds them all together like glue, all three of them were incapable of using magic.

"Now that I have Ankorbak for myself, I don't need you guys ruining it for me." said Tamori evilly.

There was a strange sent in the air as Tamori began to manifest a psionic power. In Tamori's out stretched paw, a strange green ball began to grow getting bigger and bigger. They were all afraid since they knew that Tamori was about to kill them. The sphere reached the size of a table tennis ball.

"Say hi to the Grim Reaper, Neteru." said Tamori. The sphere shot forwards and was about to strike them when suddenly, a ham-ham ran out in front of the sphere and shattered it to pieces. Everyone opened their eyes to see what had happened and to their amazement, their rescuer was the brown spotted psion who had been following them this whole time. The psion held out his quarterstaff and there was a low buzzing sound as the psion manifested his attack. There was a blast of energy from the tip of the psion's quarterstaff and it knocked Tamori and the sorcerers to the ground. There was another buzzing sound as the psion used his power to negate the psionics that held Neteru and the others and removed the ectoplasmic gags on Neteru's, Mara's, and Jingle's mouths.

"Follow me." yelled the psion. Tamori and the others were trying to get up but the psionics was holding them in place. Realizing that this was their chance to escape, they all followed the psion through the streets of Ankorbak repeating "Badda-Badda" as they ran.

The psion led them through the streets of Ankorbak and to a secret door inside an alley.

"Sun Flower." said the psion and as if the door was automatic, the door opened up revealing a secret passage. The psion led the others into the hole one by one, watching for any sign of Tamori and his sorcerers. They all managed to get into the hole and they found themselves inside a small underground room which looked like some kind of storage room. The psion quickly climbed down the ladder and closed the door.

"For now, we should be safe." said the psion.

"Why did you save us back there?" asked Neteru. "Just yesterday, you were trying to kill us and that wasn't the first time you have tried."

"I'm afraid I have made a terrible mistake." said the psion. "You see, I thought you guys were after Ankorbak for your own evil purposes. You see, my parent's ancestors came from Ankorbak and my parents were the only ones owned the keys that opens the door to Ankorbak and they also knew the secrets to passing through the traps that protect Ankorbak. They taught me about how to reach Ankorbak and all the secrets of the two challenges that prevent access. However, when I was a child, my parents realized that a samurai named Tamori was trying to steal the secrets to getting into Ankorbak. Secretly, we gave the map and key to a hedgehog named Terra and she agreed to keep both artifacts safe. Then me and my parents left our home in Rokugon in order to keep our secrets safe from Tamori."

"That explains how Terra got the map and key in the first place but that doesn't explain why you were trying to kill us." said Neteru.

"Well, I thought you were trying to get the treasures in Ankorbak." said the psion. "After my parents past away, I promised them that I was going to protect Ankorbak. After moving moving out of Rokugon, I spent the rest of my life in that library you guys went into to. I over heard you guys saying that you were going to find Ankorbak but first you were going to Rokugon. I thought that you guys were going after Rokugon so you could get the map and then steal the artifacts in Ankorbak."

"You actually thought that we were going to use Ankorbak for our own selfish purposes?" asked Neteru.

"Yes but since I lost the element of surprise with my first attempt at killing you, I had to find other ways of fighting all of you." said the psion. "When I discovered that you got help form Tamori, I thought that Tamori had hired you all to get to Ankorbak. Realizing how desperate the situation was, I hypnotized those cats into attacking you guys."

"You killed those poor cats." protested Mara.

"I thought you guys were going after the artifacts in Ankorbak so I thought it would have been a noble sacrifice." said the psion. "But when that failed, I tried to get you guys at the mountain but you had successfully threw me off the cliff. Luckily, I managed to save myself using my telekinesis. Left with few options, I decided to go into Ankorbak myself. Using the spare key I had, I opened the door, crossed the challenges and I laid in wait for you guys to show up. I found you guys when Tamori had showed up and when I over heard your conversation, I realized that I was greatly mistaken and I stepped in to help."

"Yes and we're grateful that you did." said Neteru.

"But what I can't figure out is why did you guys come to Ankorbak in the first place if you weren't going to use it for evil purposes?" asked the psion.

"See those hamsters over." said Neteru pointing to Laura and the other former humans. "They were once humans but they were changed into Hamsters by a powerful magic. It is so powerful that my own power cannot remove it so we need the Ankorbak Pylons in order to revert them back to normal."

"Well that explains it." said the psion. "Well, I can find the pylons for you. I know exactly where they are."

"You do?" said Neteru. "Can you lead us to the pylons?"

"Yes I can." said the psion. "I'll do so to try and make up for all those times I tried to kill you."

"Thank you so much...ur...what is your name?" said Neteru.

"Topaz." said the psion.

"Topaz?" said Hamtaro. "That's a strange name."

"I was named after a type of stone." explained Topaz. "Psions run in my family and stones is commonly used in psionics." Topaz walked up to the entrance of the secret room and slowly opened the door. Making sure that no one was watching, he helped the others out and they went out in search for the pylons.

Strangely enough, as Topaz led the others through Ankorbak, they found no sign of Tamori or his sorcerers anywhere. This made Neteru and the others nervous because Tamori would have been looking for them unless he had something more diabolical up his sleeve. Topaz led them through the city until they came across a large structure in front of them. It was the Ankorbak Pylons and like in Neteru's dream, the pylons were nine gray inward curving pylons that surrounded a large white circle on the ground with a diameter of two yards. The pylons were made out of gray stone and Neteru noticed strange glowing symbols on the tips of each pylon. Neteru recognized them as the runes of a powerful divine magic. They all gawked at the shear magnitude of the pylons and the beauty of their structure

"Now all we have to do is figure out how to use these pylons to cast a 'dispel magic spell' and we can bring you guys back to normal." said Neteru to the former humans.

"I don't think so." said Tamori who stood right behind them. They all turned around and noticed Tamori and his sorcerers all standing right behind them.

"I knew that if I waited here, I would find you guys." said Tamori. Soshi immediately pulled out her katana and wakizashi in both paws and said, "You will pay for your treason towards the Samurai Code and Rokugon."

"Again with the Samurai honor code." said Tamori. "Lets see how honor will save you now. Servants, destroy them." All of Tamori's sorcerers drew out wands and pointed them menacingly at Neteru and the others. Everyone pulled out their swords, except for Neteru and Mara. Laura and the other former humans were somewhat nervous about the fight since they were so inexperienced in combat and Nin-Ham was also nervous since he had only recently managed to get the hang of sword fighting. They all were about to fight when there was a sudden earthquake. This sudden tremor caught everyone by surprise. The tremor started again and this time, there was the sound of growling in the air. Beams of color moved along the holographic ceiling of Ankorbak like an aurora borealis and they all began to gather over the pylons. The colors began to descend towards the ground and began to gather in a colorful light show.

"What's happening?" asked Hamtaro.

"Remember how I said that there was something left behind when the city's inhabitants were killed?" asked Jingle.

"Yeah." answered Mara.

"I suspect that this is it and it has come to destroy us all." said Jingle morbidly.

_Author's Note: A double-bladed sword (also called a two-bladed sword) is a sword with sword blades on both ends of the handle making the weapon look like Darth Maul's weapon (from Star Wars) only with sword blades instead of light sabers._


	13. The Fight for Ankorbak Part 1

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 13: The Fight for Ankorbak Part 1

Everyone watched as the lights began to shape and form. From the light, a strange green mist began to move through Ankorbak like a fog. Everyone watched curiously as the fog moved through Ankorbak.

"What is this magic?" asked Tamori.

"What if the gas is poisonous?" asked Kana, worriedly.

"_Blik_." said Neteru and then he was under a "Detect Poison" spell. Using the spell, Neteru instantly knew that the gas was not poisonous and didn't have any affect on him or the others but that was all the spell revealed about the gas.

"Aaahh!" screamed Kana in horror.

"What is it, Kana?" asked Oxnard. Kana was too afraid to talk so Oxnard looked in the direction that Kana was pointing and when Oxnard saw it, Oxnard screamed even more loudly than Kana. Everyone stared in the direction Oxnard and Kana was looking and they saw something horrible and they discovered what the gas was doing. The gas was causing the skeletons to become animated and capable of moving on their own. Right before their eyes, all the hamster skeletons that littered the grounds of Ankorbak were now fully connected with all of its bones and they were all standing up on their own free will. The horrible looking skeletons all began walking towards our hero, their empty eye sockets staring at them and their skinless teeth in a permanent skeletal grin. Oxnard, Laura, and the other former humans were so frightened that they began to rub their heads repeating "Kushi-Kushi" as they did so.

"What are we going to do?" asked Hamtaro, worried. "This most be every skeleton in Ankorbak."

"I agree, we need to find some way of destroying what it is that is animating these skeletons." said Neteru. "Until then, we're going to fight our way out."

Everyone drew their weapons as the army of skeletons began to march towards our heroes like an army of neanderthals slowly dragging their fleshless bodies along the streets of Ankorbak. Tamori, while no one was looking, whispered something into the ear of one of his servants. The servant nodded as the servant pulled out his wand, ready for the fight.

"Okay, anyone who possesses a range attack will use it to fight the skeletons as they get here." said Neteru. "Ready! Now!" Neteru, Mara, Jingle, and all of Tamori's servants shouted, "Megna bodilla." From their staffs, wands, or paws, streams of small green stones materialized out of nowhere. The stones spread out and flew towards the skeletons, ripping them to pieces by the onslaught of the strange ectoplasmic stones conjured by our heroes. Topaz, however, was using his one psionics to fight the skeletons. Using a psionic power known as "Sever the Tie," he was cutting off the negative forces that kept the skeletons active. Every skeleton within the range of the psionics instantly disintegrated. Those who didn't use magic or psionics were waiting nearby with their weapons drawn. While they were all focused on the skeletons ahead of them, Soshi was the first one to notice that Tamori was missing. Soshi scanned the area and noticed Tamori heading towards the streets of Ankorbak, fighting off the skeletons that got in his way. Soshi immediately broke away from the group and chased after Tamori. Nin-Ham noticed Soshi leave and ran after her. No one noticed that they had left because they were too focused on the skeletons that were heading towards them. They also didn't notice that Tamori's servants were talking amongst themselves, secretly planning something.

At this point, the hamster skeletons were getting closer, despite the constant bombardment of spells. They were getting too close for ranged attacks so Neteru and Mara shouted out "_Magna dorock_" and the incantation transformed their staffs into swords.

"Okay, we're going to have to take them down by force." said Neteru. Topaz also pulled out his quarterstaff from the strap on his back and held it out in a defensive position. Without warning, Tamori's six servants said, "_Ignoma tobagollocky_." The incantation caused them all to glow a golden color. A bright golden energy connected the six ham-hams which alerted Neteru and the others that something was happening. Suddenly, the ham-hams were lifted off the ground and they plowed through the skeletons causing bones to fly everywhere.

"A Power Merge spell." said Neteru. "They're going to rejoin Tamori and leave us here to fight off the skeletons."

"Say what?" said Oxnard, shaking with fear. "They're going to leave us here to die." As Neteru looked at the army of skeletons gathering around them, Neteru knew the answer.

"Yes, Oxnard." said Neteru morbidly.

Meanwhile, Tamori was running through Ankorbak repeating "Badda-Badda" as he ran. Although there were still a few animated skeletons that were crowding around him, Tamori was capable of fighting them off using his psionics and his double-bladed sword. He managed to reach a clearing that was devoid of any skeletons. The area looked like a traffic circle that was in-between two buildings.

"My servants must have used that Power Merge spell by now." said Tamori out loud. "Any minute now, they should be here."

"Not if I kill you first." said a voice. Tamori turned around and saw Soshi standing at the edge of the traffic circle, her katana and wakizashi in both paws.

"Aw, Soshi, you have finally caught up with me." said Tamori mockingly. Soshi didn't respond. "I see you have tracked me down but you can't possibly expect to beat me."

"The power of my ancestors can stop you." said Soshi.

"Not against my weapon." Tamori lifted up his double-bladed sword and the sword's blades glowed a purple light. "This sword is enchanted with my own power. It is no match for your weapons." Soshi kneeled to the ground and she began to pray into her katana and wakizashi. The two swords began to glow a red color as the spiritual energies of the swords began to build up from within. Once the prayer was complete, Soshi stood up and held the two weapons forward, the swords glowing with power. With a war cry, Soshi charged forwards with her weapons forward. Tamori leaped into the air and the power of his double-bladed sword enabled him to leap over Soshi's head. The two battled using their weapons but like Tamori had said, his sword was strong enough to counteract with the power of Soshi's swords. Despite the extra strength, speed, and agility Soshi gained from katana and wakizashi, Tamori's sword was capable of blocking the attacks.

While the two fought, they were unaware that Nin-Ham was watching the whole thing. He knew he had to help but he wasn't sure how. Quietly, he walked from behind an alley, repeating "Nin-Nin" as he sneaked around the building. Once he was in full view of the fight, he pulled out his chakram. He sat in wait for the perfect chance to strike. As Tamori dodged a swing from Soshi, Tamori was in the open and easily in range for an attack. Seizing the opportunity, Nin-Ham jumped out of his hiding place and threw the razor sharp chakram like a Frisbee. The chakram flew towards Tamori's head but Tamori saw it coming at the last moment and he swung his double-bladed sword and using the psionic energies of the sword, he cut the weapon in two. This gave Soshi an opportunity to strike. She rammed her wakizashi into Tamori. Although the sword did not pierce through Tamori's armor, it did managed to cut through a weak spot causing an injury to Tamori. Tamori shouted out in surprise and pain, clutching the side of his chest where he was stabbed, but none the less, he recovered quickly and managed to block Soshi's next attack. Nin-Ham pulled out his ninja-to and held it high as he charged towards Tamori. Now Tamori was fighting both Nin-Ham and Soshi at once.

Meanwhile, Neteru and the others were having troubles of their own. Without Tamori's servants to help them, they had to fight off the skeletons by themselves. Using every trick they can think of, they battled all the skeletons and holding off strong but they were now surrounded by hundreds of skeletons from all sides and they would be swamped in no time. As Neteru continued to fight, he couldn't help but notice that the strange sphere of light that caused all this was still there and growing in shape. The sphere was beginning to take shape of some strange creature. Neteru knew that the sphere must be transforming into a monster so he had to get himself and the others out of here before it was too late.

"I can't take anymore of this." complained Oxnard.

"We need to take this fight to some place else and fast." said Neteru. "_Nethlik anka_." The spell conjured a strange symbol in the air above the group. The symbol was a glowing purple pentagram engraved on both sides of a round silver coin shaped object. The symbol was just a magical conjuration and it created a shield of positive energy that caused the skeletons to back out of the barrier and away from the group.

"What did you do?" asked June as she lowered her sword in exhaustion.

"The symbol I conjured will ward off the skeletons but only for a limited time." said Neteru. "But that's not the issue, we need to get out of here before it is too late."

"Heke? Too late for what?" asked Hamtaro but before Neteru could answer, the light had finally finished transforming and the light went out revealing the monster it had transformed into.


	14. The Fight for Ankorbak Part 2

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 14: The Fight for Ankorbak Part 2

The created monster resembled an earwig except the front half of the body was raised strait up in an "L" shape and the lower half was along the bottom of the ground with its eight insect legs supporting its body. The insect like monster had large pincers on the end of its torso and on its face. Instead of skin, it had a green exoskeleton and it had long arms which ended in claw like hands with three digits on each hand. The face had large orange eyes that had a pupiless stare and a large mouth with sharp teeth. The monster roared loudly causing the bones of the animated skeletons to rattle.

"Lets move." shouted Neteru. They all began running but quickly noticed that Oxnard had fainted with fright.

"Oxnard." said Boss irritated. Boss lifted Oxnard over his head saying "Grooba" as he did and began running along with the others repeating "Daba-Daba" as he ran. Thanks to the pentagram symbol that Neteru had conjured over their heads, the skeletons were easily held at bay enabling them all to run through the crowd of walking dead. The monster was about to pursue Neteru and the others until it felt the presence of a powerful spell. The monster turned around to investigate and walked through the wide streets. The skeletons quickly moving out of the way of each of the monster's steps to allow the monster through.

"Why isn't he chasing us?" asked Hamtaro as the group stopped.

"Something else must have alerted it." said Jingle.

"Hey, where's Soshi and Nin-Ham?" asked Laura.

"I saw them chase after Tamori as he escaped." said Boss straining under Oxnard's weight.

"What if the monster is after them?" said Travis.

"He better not harm them." said Jingle. "They're practically the only family I have."

"Travis is right." said Mara. "We got to make sure that Nin-Ham and Soshi are not in danger." Neteru hated the idea of putting themselves in danger like that but he knew he had no other choice.

"Fine, we best go after them." said Neteru. The group turned around and began to pursue the monster repeating "Ticky-Ticky" as they ran.

Meanwhile, Nin-Ham and Soshi was still in the sword fight with Tamori. Despite Nin-Ham's inexperience with weapons, the addition of Nin-Ham made all the difference and despite Tamori's psionicly enhanced sword, Tamori was beginning to weaken under the strain of fighting two opponents. Soshi took a good swing with her katana and it knocked the double-bladed sword right out of Tamori's paws. This move startled Tamori which gave Soshi an opportunity to stab Tamori but before she could, she was shot by a spell that caused her great pain.

"Soshi!" said Nin-Ham in alarm. As Soshi fell to the ground in pain, Nin-Ham noticed that Tamori's servants were nearby, their Power Merge spell had ended and they all had their wands drawn for attack.

"You have both fought bravely but all for not." said Tamori. By now, Soshi had managed to get up and even though she had her katana and wakizashi out, she knew that it wouldn't do any good.

"Looks like you're out numbered." said Tamori tauntingly. "Looks like your ancestors can't save you now and soon, you will be joining them." Soshi raised her katana and wakizashi, ready to die in combat, when suddenly, the monster swerved out from behind a corner and, in one bite, eat all six of Tamori's servants whole. Soshi could hear the screams of the terrified ham-hams moments before the monster swallowed them. Tamori was so shocked by the sudden attack that for a moment, he just stood there wide eyed. Soshi and Nin-Ham, on the other hand, ran for their lives. The monster focused its large round eyes on Tamori and lunged forward to eat him but Tamori teleported out of the way and into the crowd of skeletons that had followed the monster. Tamori easily used his psionics and his sword to bat away the skeletons as he made his escape. The monster was rather confused about having Tamori just disappear like that so it went in search for Soshi and Nin-Ham. Upon seeing the monster coming, Soshi said, "Shashaa!" and she and Nin-Ham ran into an alley and hid inside a wooden crate near the back of the alley. The monster saw them enter the alley was now squeezing its large head through the small alleyway. Soshi and Nin-Ham both remained hidden under the old wooden crate but the monster was getting closer to them and it was only a matter of time before it had them right where it wants them.

Meanwhile, Tamori was slashing his way through the skeletons saying "Grooba" with every swing. He was just about to turn a corner when suddenly, he ran right into Neteru and the others. The skeletons around Tamori backed away as the symbol that Neteru had conjured warded them off.

"You." said Tamori. "How many times must I kill you?" Tamori emitted a mind blast (like from chapter 6) but Topaz quickly conjured a psionic barrier that reflected the psionics. However, that move proved to be fatal because the monster, who was moments away from finding Soshi and Nin-Ham, had just sensed the psionics and turned around to find its source. The monster ran through the crowd of skeletons, crushing any who were not fast enough to get out of the way. Soshi and Nin-Ham used this opportunity to escape from their hiding place.

Before Tamori could use more of his psionics, he and the others saw the monster heading in their direction and froze in horror. However, Topaz was the first to realize that Tamori wasn't looking so he used his telekinesis to hurl Tamori into the air. Tamori was so surprised by the sudden telekinetic thrust that he didn't have time to resist as he was thrown. Tamori shouted out as he flew through the air, dropping his double-bladed sword as he flew. Tamori landed hard onto the skeletons. He was so dazed by the landing that he didn't notice that he landed right in front of the monster. The monster quickly picked up Tamori in its large hands and Tamori struggled to get free while Neteru and the others began running towards the alley where Soshi and Nin-Ham still remained repeating "Chick-ah Chick-ah" as they ran. Meanwhile, Tamori was struggling within the grasp of the monster, desperate to break free. He tried to teleport but the monster was capable of disabling Tamori's powers while within the monster's hand. Tamori struggled with all his might to break free but the monster held him tightly. The monster opened its large gaping mouth revealing it's large teeth. Tamori stared into the monster's mouth with horror in his eyes.

"No, no, no, no, not that. Aaaahhh!" screamed Tamori as he was lifted towards the mouth. Tamori's screams were cut short as Tamori was tossed into the monster's mouth and went down the hatch in a big gulp.

Neteru and the others managed to reach Soshi and Nin-Ham as they were fighting off the skeletons crowding around them.

"It's about time you got here." said Soshi.

"Come on." said Neteru. "We got to get out of here before..."

"Look out." screamed Soshi. The monster had caught up with them and had picked up Mara and Laura in both of its claws while no one was looking.

"Laura!" screamed Travis in horror. Topaz quickly used his telekinesis to hold the monster's arms but the monster was resisting the telekinesis, slowly moving Laura and Mara to its mouth. Mara and Laura just stared in horror as they were moments away from becoming ingested.

"Neteru, help me." screamed Mara. Neteru quickly noticed Mara's staff on the ground (which was still in the form of a sword) where Mara had dropped it and Neteru had an idea. He picked up the staff and shouted "_Bulla_." The spell launched Neteru high into the air. Both Neteru's and Mara's staffs glowed brightly (and they're both in the shape of swords) as Neteru lodged the staffs/swords into the monster's chest. The monster screamed in pain as its blood oozed down its front. Neteru tried to use the staffs to cut deeper into the monster but some kind of invisible force forced the staffs out of the monsters. Neteru plummeted to the ground and landed hard on his back.

"Ouchichi." said Neteru. Both staffs cluttered to the ground and reverted back to their original form upon impact. Everyone else wanted to help but the symbol that Neteru conjured that was keeping the skeletons at bay had finally faded away and now the skeletons were swamping our heroes. Boss couldn't help with the fight because he still held the unconscious Oxnard. Topaz also couldn't help because he was still holding the monster's arms telekinetically in order to keep it from eating Mara and Laura. Mara tried to use her magic to free herself but her powers were disabled as long as she remained in that monster's claws.

Despite the injuries they sustained from the skeletons, the ham-hams tried to ignore the skeletons and focused on fighting the monster, especially Hamtaro who was slashing at the monster's legs screaming, "Let my friend go." Nin-Ham had thrown his remaining chakram and all of his shurikens at the monster but the attacks bounced off of the monster's hard exoskeleton. Everyone gave it their all but their weapons did not puncture the monster's hard exoskeleton and Topaz was growing weaker from using his telekinesis to prevent the monster from eating Mara and Laura. If they don't destroy the monster soon, Topaz will finally collapse from exhaustion and Mara and Laura will become a snack.

"I don't get it." said Travis as he cut a skeleton in half in order to keep it away from Topaz. "None of our attacks have penetrated the monster's body armor." Neteru was standing nearby thinking about what Travis had said and an idea came to him.

"If we can't destroy him from the outside," thought Neteru, "then we must destroy it from the inside."

"_Sevan dook_." said Neteru and the spell caused Neteru to levitate off the ground and up to the monster's eye level. Neteru held up both his staff and Mara's and began to say the incantation, "_Baraka buana nu nu dego bah doh_..." The monster lunged forwards in an attempt to eat Neteru but at the last moment, Topaz directed his telekinesis and held the monster in place with its mouth open. This move gave Neteru the chance to finish his incantation. "..._gogi heta vea_." From both staffs, sky blue beams of light shot into the monster's mouth and down the monster's throat. Topaz used all of his strength to maintain the telekinesis so Neteru could destroy the monster. As he did, more and more skeletons were beginning to crowd around Topaz but the others were defending him well. Neteru was having troubles maintaining the spell because maintaining a spell using two staffs puts more of a strain on the sorcerer than it does with one but none the less, Neteru pushed himself to the limits, desperate to save Laura and Mara. The monster began to glow from the inside out as power began to build up within him. The creature began to grow hotter and hotter and brighter and brighter until the monster was disintegrated in a flash of light. Instantly, the monster vanished into thin air and all of the skeletons fell to the ground with a loud clatter. Mara and Laura, now that they weren't in the monster's claws anymore, both fell to the ground but Topaz used his telekinesis to gently place them on the ground. Both Topaz and Neteru collapsed in exhaustion however, Neteru didn't fall to the ground because the spell that kept him levitated was lowering him to the ground.

Once on the ground, everyone congratulated Neteru for his heroics, especially Mara who ran through the crowd and right there in front of everyone, she kissed Neteru on the lips.

"Neteru, you were amazing there." said Mara once she let go of Neteru. Neteru blushed so much that he actually turned as red as a tomato. He began rubbing his head, repeating "Kushi-Kushi" as he did. Meanwhile, Hamtaro was running over to Laura, hugging her.

"Oh, thank goodness you're all right." said Hamtaro to Laura. They were all bruised and cut from the attacks from the skeletons but other than that, everyone was okay. It was at that moment that Oxnard began to wake up. Realizing that Oxnard was awake, Boss set Oxnard down on the ground and Oxnard said, "I needed that nap. Did I miss anything?" Everyone fainted anime style.

"You're quiet the heavy sleeper, Oxnard." said Neteru as he stood up. "By the way, thanks for saving Mara and Laura, Topaz. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Well, I just wanted to help." said Topaz modestly.

"Now that the danger is over, lets go over to the pylons." said June. They all walked towards the pylons repeating "Wasa-Wasa" as they walked.

Walking through the piles of bones that littered the streets, they all found the Ankorbak Pylons, untouched by the carnage. They all gathered around in the center of the massive monument, trying to figure out how to work the pylons.

"So how does this work?" asked Laura.

"Those runes on the pylons are part of a spell." said Neteru. "If I put them in the right order, I should be able to produce a spell that will revert the humans back to normal."

"Well, get started." said Hamtaro.

"The problem is, I don't know how to read the runes." admitted Neteru.

"What?" chorused everyone.

"You can't read them?" said Travis. "Why not."

"Because these symbols are divine in nature and I specialize in arcane magic." explained Neteru. "Although arcane and divine magic are similar, they're not exactly the same."

"Jingle, Mara, Topaz, you guys can read it, can't you?" asked Laura in desperation. The ham-hams in question shook their heads.

"I'm a bard and bards use arcane magic." explained Jingle.

"I'm a sorcerer like Neteru thus I can't read it anymore affectively than he can." explained Mara.

"I'm a psion thus I know nothing about magic." explained Topaz. There was a silence of disappointment. Neteru was about to suggest that he try to figure out the runes anyway until he noticed that the pylons were beginning to change. One by one, the glowing runes that were on the tip of each pylon was changing to a different rune. They all watched as this phenomena happened and once the runes where changed, a sort of blue electricity began to move between the pylons like lightening bolts forming a circle around our heroes. This same electricity struck our heroes and they felt a strange surge of power. For a moment, it felt like time itself had slowed down. No one could feel, move, think, or see. It was as if they were separated from time itself and they past out of time, thought, and memory.

Neither of them could remember what had happened or how long it lasted. All they could remember was that it gradually ended and they found themselves lying on the ground. At first, they all laid on the ground, motionless. As Neteru laid on his side, he realized that he was lying on some grass. Not only that, but he could hear the sound of birds chirping and the sound of the wind blowing across his fur indicating that he was outside. Neteru opened his eyes and he realized that he was, indeed, outside. Upon closer inspection, he realized that he was lying in front of the entrance to the Clubhouse. Noticing the others lying on the ground around him, Neteru shouted out, "Wake up you guys. We're outside of the Clubhouse." Everyone began to open their eyes and were amazed that they were outside of the Clubhouse entrance.

"How did we end up here?" asked Boss. "Ankorbak is miles away from here."

"That's not all that is new." said Jingle. Everyone turned around and gasped when they noticed that Laura, Kana, June, Kylie, and Travis were lying on the ground and they were human again. The five humans got on their feet, disoriented and confused as to how did they get back to the park.

"What happened?" asked Travis. "Was that all a dream?"

"I don't think so." said Kana.

"Hey Travis, what's the date and time?" asked Laura suddenly. Travis looked at his watch which had changed back along with his cloths. He had one of those watches that displayed the time and date.

"Why, today's the day we were supposed to come home from that out-door school." said Travis. "If we hurry, we may be able to get back to school and no one will know we were gone." They all ran too school but Laura stopped to look back and she saw Hamtaro and the others. Hamtaro waved "good bye" to Laura and Laura returned the wave. As she waved, Laura whispered, "Thanks you guys." She then turned around and ran to catch up with her friends.


	15. Epilogue

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes

Chapter 15: Epilogue

Back in the Clubhouse, the other Ham-Hams were just sitting around the table with glum looks on their faces.

"Oh, I miss Hamtaro and zee others." said Bijou, her ears and pig tails drooping.

"Ookwee." agreed Penelope.

"Even I can't think of a joke to liven up this crowd," said Howdy.

"What a relief." said Dexter to himself.

"It certainly doesn't feel the same without the others here with us." said Sandy.

"I would give anything just to see Hamtaro's smiling face again." said Bijou. Just as Bijou had finished her sentence, the door to the Clubhouse swung open.

"Hamha, everyone." shouted Hamtaro to the Ham-Hams upon entering and almost instantly, everyone leaped out of their seats and ran over to greet Hamtaro. Bijou tackled Hamtaro in a hug.

"Hamtaro, you're back." said Bijou with joy. Boss was the next one to enter the room and when he noticed Bijou hugging Hamtaro, he quickly said, "Hey Bijou, I'm back too." When Bijou noticed that Boss was back, she ran over to Boss and hugged him.

"Boss, eet eez you." said Bijou. Boss blushed making his face as red as a tomato. However, Bijou quickly let go of Boss and hugged Oxnard once he came in.

"Oxnard, you're safe too." said Bijou.

"Well, you know I wouldn't just disappear on you." said Oxnard. Neteru, followed by Mara, stepped into the Clubhouse and said, "Hamha, we're back." At once, they were all surrounded by Ham-Hams all asking questions simultaneously about their trip.

"Did you get to see Rokugon?" asked Panda.

"Did you fight any villains, Boss?" asked Cappy.

"Was Rokugon as beautiful as they say it is?" asked Pashmina.

"Ookwee." said Penelope.

"What was Ankorbak like?" asked Maxwell.

"Who are those three ham-hams behind you?" asked Dexter. The questions finally stopped when they all noticed Jingle, Soshi, Nin-Ham, and Topaz enter the room.

"Oh, these are some new friends of ours." said Neteru. "Everyone, meet Soshi, Nin-Ham, and Topaz."

"Howdy, Nin-Ham, long time no see." said Howdy.

"Hello my fellow Ham-Hams." said Soshi. Without warning, Stan slid over to Soshi and grabbed both her paws.

"Hey gorgeous, where..." But before Stan could finish flirting with Soshi, Stan was grabbed by the tail by Sandy's ribbon wand and was dragged away from Soshi.

"Aw man." said Stan irritated.

They all spent the day at the Clubhouse telling stories about their adventure. After dinner, Topaz left the Clubhouse early, claiming there was something important he had to take care of. He didn't mention what it was he was going to do but he said he was coming right back. As Topaz was gone, the others continued to swap stories until that evening...

The sun was beginning to set in the distance changing the sky orange around the horizon. All the Ham-Hams were gathered outside of the Clubhouse entrance with Jingle, Soshi, and Nin-Ham standing before them, all packed up and ready to go home.

"Are you sure you can't stay longer?" asked Pashmina.

"I wish I could but I need to return to my home in Rokugon and report to the emperor about Tamori's treachery." explained Soshi.

"I wish I could stay too but I'm wanted back at my ninja school." said Nin-Ham.

"I wouldn't mind staying but I got to keep on wandering." said Jingle. "Besides, I have to go back to Rokugon so I can pick up Herbert. I left him there when we left for Ankorbak."

"I understand." said Hamtaro.

"Hey, I wonder when Topaz is coming back?" asked Boss.

"I'm coming!" shouted Topaz as he began to run up the hill. Everyone turned their heads towards the sound of Topaz's voice and saw Topaz himself running towards them with a large back pack on.

"Hey Topaz, what's with all the stuff?" asked Oxnard.

"I'm coming to Rokugon, too." said Topaz.

"Why would you want to come to Rokugon?" asked Soshi.

"Well, I've missed Rokugon so much that I've decided to move back to Rokugon." said Topaz. "Now that Tamori is gone and Ankorbak is safe once again, I can now move back there."

"Well have fun in Rokugon, Topaz." said Boss.

"Yeah, good luck on your journey, you guys." said Hamtaro. "Don't forget to come back and visit because you all will always be welcome at the Clubhouse."

"I seldom get enough time for long trips but I'm sure I may one day be able to come for a visit." said Soshi.

"Bye you guys." said Topaz. Topaz, Soshi, Jingle, and Nin-Ham all walked off towards the forests out of town while the other Ham-Hams waved good bye. Once Topaz, Soshi, Jingle, and Nin-Ham were out of sight, the Ham-Hams all left to their own homes to be with their owners.

That night, Laura was once again at her desk, dressed in her PJs and writing in her journal with Hamtaro on her desk krmping on some seeds. In her journal, she wrote:

_Dear Journal_

_ When I left for my outdoor school, I never expected that it would be so adventurous. While I was at the camp, myself, Kana, Kylie, June, and Travis had all been transformed into hamsters by some magical statue or amulet. To make a long story short, we managed to meet up with the other hamsters in town, including Hamtaro, and because we were hamsters too, we could talk to the hamsters. With their help, we traveled to a small city run entirely by hamsters and then we had to come to an abandoned city in order change back. It was certainly the most amazing journey I have ever been in. I've had to encounter sorcerers, psychics, magic, samurai, ninjas, and the cutest hamsters I have ever seen. Once we managed to change ourselves back to humans, we easily snuck back onto the bus as it came back to school and amazingly, no one noticed we were gone._

Laura looked up from her journal and looked at Hamtaro and a sad expression crossed her face. She wrote:

_Although I am glad that I'm human again, I still miss being able to talk to Hamtaro. Being a hamster was so fun and I wish I could do so more often. But I just miss being able to have conversations with Hamtaro. Although I knew all along that Hamtaro cared for me, actually being able to ask him was the best thing for our friendship._

Hamtaro read what Laura wrote in her diary and thought, "Yeah, I agree, I'm going to miss talking to you too, Laura." Laura closed her diary and picked up Hamtaro into both hands.

"We certainly had a great adventure these past two weeks." said Laura to Hamtaro. "I just hope I can one day relive it."

"Me too, Laura." thought Hamtaro. "We certainly had fun." Hamtaro was placed back into his cage so he could curl up into bed. Laura turned out the lights, crawled into her own bed and said, "Good night, Hamtaro."

"Good night, Laura." said Hamtaro even though he knew that she couldn't understand him.

Meanwhile, as Hamtaro and Laura were in bed, Mara and Neteru sat side-by-side on top of a rock looking up at the full moon. Through a gap in the trees of the park, the moon shown brightly, shining upon the two sorcerers. Without looking, Mara reached over and grabbed Neteru's paw and Neteru held on to Mara's paw.

"You know, Neteru, I never did thank you for saving my life back in Ankorbak." said Mara. "Thank you."

"Well, you would have done the same for me." said Neteru. Neteru gritted his teeth as a nagging question came to his mind. "Mara, there has been something I've been wanting to say to you."

"What is it?" asked Mara curiously.

"I...love you." said Neteru a little embarrassed. "I've always thought of you as a friend but ever since we first reunited after that one year of separation, I think my feelings for you have actually changed."

"Wow, that must have taken a lot of courage to tell me this." said Mara. "Want me to let you in on a little secret?"

"Uh, sure." said Neteru surprised about the offer. Mara leaned over and kissed Neteru on the cheek.

"I love you, too." said Mara. Neteru was surprised by this but he quickly got over it and his emotions made him feel like he was floating on air.

"Really?" asked Neteru.

"Yes." said Mara. "Ever since we got back together, I've been having the same feelings for you but I hadn't had the guts to say so before." The two held each others paws and faced each other. Then they slowly and romantically kissed each other. It was the most exhilarating thing the two had ever done together and when they finally let go of each other, they began to blush as red as tomatoes and they began to rub their heads repeating "Kushi-Kushi" as they did. When they finally stopped, the two began to nuzzle each other repeating "Schumubby-Wubby" as they did. It was indeed a magical night that evening as two old friends finally expressed their love for each other.

**The End**

_Author's note: Did you like what you read? Well don't stop now. You're only halfway through the quadrilogy and it only gets better from here. Here are the remaining stories for you to read: Journey to the Island of Halastia, and Temple of the stories are currently on under the Hamtaro section._


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